Bound and Cold
by FebruaryLily
Summary: The adventure for survival and sanity has begun.There's no turning back on the decisions that will either save or kill their world.The question is,can they do it without losing their minds to the new virus?CHAPTER 7 UP!
1. Nightmares

_Author's Notes: I edited it since my spacing was pretty bad. I'm not the greatest writer but I hope this appeals to you all. I'm new to writing and to making fanfics. Hopefully I got everyone in character!_

_I do not own any part of Resident Evil. Oh but how I wish I did..._

--

**" B o u n d & C o l d "**

Chapter One

--

"Massachusetts...? But I'm in Arizona and I don't have the money to... Oh... I don't know... Are you sure? All right then, if you say so... Four days? Got it. Love you too... Bye." Rebecca sighed and hung up the cordless phone before reaching over and placing it onto the receiver. She closed her eyes and let herself fall back onto the soft brown couch she had been sitting on.

After the events in Raccoon City, the former members of STARS decided to reside in Arizona. Barry and his family bought a house and Chris and Claire were neighbors to Jill and Rebecca in an apartment building about three miles from Barry's house. Everyone seemed to live out their lives regularly while trying to forget about the past. The mansion, Raccoon City, and Umbrella. The nightmares were still fresh as fruit in Rebecca's mind and haunted her whether she was asleep or not. Most of the time she wasn't sleeping and normally only had four hours of sleep becuase she was either waiting tables with Jill at the diner during daylight or taking her college classes during nighttime. And during those four hours, she never really slept.

A scattered pattern of knocks sounded at the door, causing Rebecca to jolt upright. She strolled to the door, unlocked it and allowed entry to whomever had knocked. Chris poked his head in and looked at Rebecca.

"Hello, Chris." The medic greeted with a smile.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked, strolling in. Rebecca closed the door and shrugged.

"Nothing much... Just hanging around..." She answered casually.

"Studying hard I see." The marksman chuckled at her towers of health and biology books that were surrounded by stacks of papers. Rebecca flushed in embarrassment and ruffled her hair lightly.

"Ah, yes... I have a term paper due in a couple weeks." She murmured, her eyes falling to his hands as he reached down and picked up one of the papers. She then looked to his face and had to strain herself not to laugh at the befuddled look his features adorned. After skimming through the paper Chris bent down and placed the paper exactly where it was before he had picked it up.

"Confusing much?" He muttered.

Rebecca let the laugh escape now. "It is, but at the same time it isn't. What you were reading are just notes." She smiled. Chris stared at her in amazement.

"All that? Notes? You're one bright crayon, kid." He grinned. Rebecca raised a brow and strolled to the kitchen.

"Is that a compliment?" She asked, taking a bottle of water out from the fridge. Chris followed her into the kitchen and watched her as he leaned against the counter.

"Of course. You're not a dull color, like me."

Rebecca giggled and shook her head. "But I like green and it's considered a dull color, right?"

"Ah, but it depends on the 'shade' of green you like,"

"Olive green." Chris fell silent and Rebecca laughed.

"So, you're here for Jill?" She asked before he could give her a witty comment. He folded his arms and nodded.

"She's still at work." Rebecca looked at the apple clock above Chris. "Actually, she should be here soon."

"Don't you work with her?"

"Yes, but I was working on my term paper so I couldn't go."

"Ah," Chris nodded and the two were silent. Rebecca gulped down some water and sighed inwardly, remembering her earlier conversation on the phone.

Chris titled his head and studied her for a moment before he hesitated in asking her, "Something on your mind?" She paused, looking at him. For a moment they stood in silence before she broke it with a heavy sigh.

"Remember last month my uncle called me?" The young woman asked, placing the bottle of water on the counter. Chris nodded and she continued. "Well, he kept updating every week and this week he called to ask if I would like to spend a month with him and the rest of the family. I couldn't say no..." She trailed off, her eyes cast down at the floor.

Chris sighed and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Rebecca, you should go. You know you want to see him and the rest of your family more than ever. How long has it been since you've seen them?"

"Since I was seventeen."

"And you're twenty-four now."

Rebecca was silent. Has it really been that long? She thought to herself. Time has left me, hasn't it? I bet everyone doesn't remember me or just wanted to forget... No they wouldn't do that, would they? She shook the thought from her head. No, they wouldn't, even if I haven't kept in touch for four years, they wouldn't shun me out. She smiled lightly at the thought of finally seeing her family again. Chris' grip tightened a little and she knew he thought the same. "Ok I'll go... But what about Jill? She can't pay off rent by herself..."

Chris groaned. "There you go with the guilty wave."

Rebecca chuckled. "I can't help it!"

"Then get rid of it!"

"You know I can't do that."

"Ok, how about talking to Jill first? I'm pretty sure she'll be okay with it."

Rebecca nodded. "Ok, I will."

"When will you be leaving?"

"I'll be going in four days, I have to get back to him tonight before eight."

"You've got plenty of time, think hard."

"Yeah I will, but think about it! A month from you guys is just great." Rebecca teased. Chris nudged her playfully, almost knocking her over.

"Anyway," The marksmen began. "I'll be going then. Tell Jill to drop by when she's ready." He informed as he headed to the door, Rebecca following.

"I will." She said, as he stepped out into the hall. He gave her a nod and strolled down the somewhat tight corridor. She watched him until he disappeared around the corner. The medic closed the door, locked it and returned to the couch.

--

Rebecca blindly ran down the hallway, her vision blurred and shone only black and white like an old film. Her heart pounded against her chest as though it wanted to burst out of the wall of flesh. Her breathing was rapid and ran its own out of place pattern with a hint of wheezing. A boom of thunder and crack of lightning drew a silent scream from the young woman's lips.

Moonlight poured through the dusty old windows and gave the unlit hallway an erie dim glow. Distant howls and hungry growls bounced off the hallow hallway walls and pierced Rebecca's ears like a sharp scream. This caused her to push herself to run faster despite the protests coming from her legs. She tried desperately to focus on the sound of the swishing of her powder blue dress and the clacking of her white high heels rather than the howls and growls of her predators.

At the end of the hall waited a door. It was merely a few more steps away and she'd be safe but she was gradually slowing down and the hounds were gaining on her with every passing second. The door swung open and she was so happy to see Claire and for a brief moment Claire was happy to see her but that happy expression was washed and replaced with complete terror. Her hand shot out and she motioned Rebecca into the room, yelling "hurry" all the while but Rebecca was already exhausted and running on reserve power.

A sickening sound, like that of ripping flesh sounded around her and Claire was now yelling for Chris and help but she too late. Just as Rebecca made it to the door a sharp edged tentacle sliced through the woman's back and stomach in a single hit. Two more followed and all the air from her chest left, when all three pulled out she fell forward, blood flowing out from the two wounds into her abdomen and one in her chest.

"Rebecca!" The medic awoke with a start, her lungs greedily taking in fresh air. Her green eyes were glazed over in tears as she looked into Jill's fearful eyes. Behind Jill was Claire and Chris, both adorning the same expression as Jill. Rebecca sat up, pushing herself out of Jill's grasp.

"What happened?" She asked. Jill frowned deeply.

"You were having a fit and then stopped breathing. Are you all right?" She asked concerned.

Rebecca was at a loss but she didn't want them to worry so she nodded. "Yes, I'm fine, it was just a nightmare. I'm, just going to rest a bit, okay?" Before Jill or anyone could say anything she stood up and walked to her room briskly.

That dream again... Rebecca pressed her back against the door and sighed heavily. She closed her eyes and slid down onto the floor. She heard the three adults talking quietly amongst one another. She held her breath to listen.

"It's not the first time..." Jill voiced sadly.

"I imagine not." Chris said.

"Does it happen often?" Claire asked. Jill shook her head. "Every once in a while but it's not rare either."

"Maybe she's stressed?" Chris shrugged.

Jill and Claire nodded. "That's possible... She's only been sleeping for about three hours ever night."

Rebecca frowned. Stressed? Am I really? She thought, staring at her hands. No, there's more to it than that... She continued, shaking her head slightly. She pressed her ear against the door and listened.

"You're right Chris, maybe seeing her family will benefit to her condition."

Rebecca frowned. Jill thinks I've gone looney? She thought sadly.

"Then it's settled, whether she likes it or not, she's going to her uncle's house." Claire said sternly.

"She doesn't have to call back until eight, 'til then let her sleep." Chris muttered.

--

**" B o u n d & C o l d "**

Chapter One

~ E n d

--

This is my first Resident Evil fanfic but go ahead and criticize, but please don't flame. You may give me advice on how to improve on spelling and grammar because my english does pretty much suck. Don't forget to review!

Thank you;

_Afro Spirit_

_Malice_

For your reviews!

_Bloopers_

Rebecca gulped down some of the water. A tingle began in her throat when she was about to gulp down more water and then burning. Suddenly she sprayed Chris' face with the supposably water, her face a mixture of emotions, anger, confusion and embarrassment. She wiped her mouth feverishly. "Ugh! That was not water!" She choked. Chris laughed loudly, forgetting that Rebecca had showered him with liquor. Rebecca whined, the burning in her throat was highly uncomfortable.


	2. Loss Of Breath

_What happens if your body accepts the T-virus without you even remembering how? And what happens after a few more shots of it along with another virus? Ask Rebecca if she's still sane._

--

**" B o u n d & C o l d "**

Chapter Two

--

"Glad you could make it, Rebecca." A hand gripped Rebecca's shoulder firmly and turned her around. Her eyes fell to the person's lips, which were pulled back, into a smirk. Everything went black. The next she saw was a white hallway. Her hands were pulled behind her and she was led down the hallway and through a pair of double doors. The doors slammed opened and...

"...Becca?"

The young medic awoke with a start when her ears finally picked up firm knocks on the door she was currently leaning on. She stood and opened the door. "Yes?"

"Come to the living room..." Jill said softly. Rebecca could see worry still lingering in the woman's eyes. Without speaking a word, Rebecca followed Jill out into the hallway and into the living room where Chris and Claire were quietly conversing. At the sight of Rebecca they fell silent, making the young woman frown.

"We think you should go with your uncle." Jill said as she went to sit beside Chris. Rebecca just stood there, frowning. "You need a vacation away from the stress... Maybe that will get rid of-"

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Rebecca interrupted, feeling anger boil in her veins. The three on the couch were dumbstruck. "I know you want me to go because you think I've gone mad."

"Rebecca, that's not true! We're just worried that's all!" Claire and Jill exclaimed simultaneously. Rebecca shook her head feverishly and walked briskly to the closet. She opened it and snatched her jacket from its hanger. Chris stood and went over to her.

"Becky, wait. You're blowing it all out of proportion. It's not like that." He said, grabbing her arm lightly. Rebecca looked at his hand then to his face. "Just forget it. I'm fine."

With that said the angry medic yanked herself out of Chris' grasp and left the apartment, leaving behind a stunned and hurt trio.

--

"She's alone now, should we tell Matthew?" A woman asked. The man beside her leaned closer to the monitor and nodded.

"It's now or never." He smirked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. The woman nodded, pressed a button on her headset and spoke into the microphone.

"Come in Matthew, you have the ok to go in with the plan." She waited for a moment. "Matthew?" She waited again. "Matthew's not respond- oh wait."

"Anna? Anna it's Matthew, I got the transmission. We're carrying out the plan now."

"Good, and remember, don't let her see your face."

"Gotcha, Matthew out."

Anna looked to the man beside her with a smile. "Everything's going to plan."

--

The autumn air was crisp and cool when it hit Rebecca. It calmed her down ever so slightly as she solemnly strolled down the streets away from her apartment. Her mind wandered to earlier events. That was pretty stupid of me... Why did I do that? That's totally not me. She thought to herself.

"I have to apologize when I get back..." She sighed, leaning her head back and staring into the starry night sky. "Maybe I could get them something?" She asked to no one. At the corner of her eyes she spotted Dunkin' Donuts.

"That sounds good." She smiled and directed herself to the store. Her ears picked up a rustling sound and it startled her. She stopped in mid-step and spun around, waiting to hear it again.

Her racing heart slowed down and her shoulders relaxed. She turned around and gasped when she bumped into a tall figure.

"Glad you could make it, Rebecca." The figure smirked.

"How..." Rebecca's eyes widened, her mind replaying her dream. She looked into his face but only saw a black ski mask, suddenly a sharp pain, like a pinch, hit her arm. Alarms went off in her head as her mind tried to register what was happening. A warm feeling fluttered through her arm and washed over her body. Then, just as it had come, the feeling died down quickly. After that, everything in her body stopped and she felt herself being swiped off of her feet.

"Just let the feeling take over. You'll be just fine." Came the husky voice of Rebecca's masked figure. Rebecca didn't want to close her eyes but the heaviness in her them forced her too.

Before she knew it, she was out cold.

--

Rebecca came around to the silent hum of machines. Her body felt heavy and when she tried to lift her arms, the quiet rattle of chains gave her the answer as to why she felt like that. She sighed but caught her breath mid-way when she heard clacking of a pair of shoes approach her. She calmed her body and tried to look as though she were still asleep.

"William, I got the results back. You were right, like always. But even with these results, you sure we can use her like this?" Anna asked, turning her head to the man beside her. William studied the monitor; his eyes then shifted their gaze to the blood samples in her hand. Anna looked at him and he looked at her, his annoyed expression chilled her to bone.

"She scored high, don't start doubting her now. Just do what you have to do so we can get the data to him. I don't want to get on that man's bad side." He half-growled. Anna nodded and went back to work while William went over to the examination table where Rebecca was supposedly sleeping.

He looked over her petite figure, a smug look upon his slightly aged face. Rebecca felt his cold eyes on her and tried in vain to suppress a shiver though she didn't do much good in it. She hoped it went unnoticed by the man.

"This is a surprise..." Anna said, breaking the silence. William didn't look away from Rebecca, but he listened to Anna.

"It seems the T-virus made a way into her. There are tiny specs of it everywhere." She continued. William looked at her, his eyebrows raised.

"She should've mutated if she had been bitten... But she's alive and in full health." He pondered on the thought.

Say what? I don't remember getting infected! Rebecca screamed mentally. But maybe that's why I've having those weird dreams? She felt her heart sink, being infected was the worse news she could ever get. But hey, at least she knew she wasn't going crazy. She opened her eyes lazily and waited for her them to adjust to the light before looking around the room. It was like any other surgery room in a hospital. Her gaze landed on the backs of the two 'doctors' and she forced herself to suppress a growl.

"That's right... I'm intrigued and concerned about this... Maybe we'll have to open her up and see?" Anna smirked. William gave a slight snort and shook his head.

"If her body accepts it in a different way, then so be it. Inject her again and record what happens. If she doesn't die or mutate, then give her a little of the new virus." He demanded, heading for the door. "Oh," He turned to his assistant again. "Take a few of her eggs, if she lives through it all without dying or mutating into a brainless zombie." After that he left the room.

--

"Two hours..." Chris sighed, sinking back into the seat a little. Claire was sitting in the backseat, leaning forward with her elbows propped on her knees, and her chin resting on the palm of her hands. Jill sighed, shaking her head.

"Don't start complaining. The longer we take the longer it takes to save Rebecca." She scolded.

"The man said he saw someone with a girl over their shoulder. The person put her into a black van and went north. The girl had to be Rebecca." Claire said.

Jill nodded. "Yeah."

"But... What if it isn't Rebecca?" Chris asked, stopping at a stop light. The two women looked at him, Chris felt their cold glares and fell silent.

"Well then, cross your fingers." Jill answered before turning her gaze to the road.

"Oh look!" Claire exclaimed, pointing in front of them. Jill squinted her eyes to get a better look at what the woman was pointing to and finally saw what waited in the distance.

"It's... A hospital..." Chris blinked, stepping on the break. Claire shook her head. "No, they couldn't have taken her here..." Jill unlocked her door and slipped out.

"Jill?" Chris and Claire asked simultaneously. The woman stood in front of the car, hands on her hips.

"I'll be back." And without another word the woman turned around and sped off towards the hospital. Claire then mimiced the woman, leaving the car and running off towards the building.

"Claire! Jill! Damn it..." Chris huffed angrily, hitting the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. He parked the car and followed the two women. He entered the lobby where visitors and patients were conversing with one another. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. Chris walked up to the main desk where his sister and Jill were patiently waiting.

"Rebecca Chambers?" The desk attendant asked, her voice a little shakey. "Ah, no. I'm sorry. No there's no one here by that name." The attendant frowned and looked back and forth between Chris, Jill and Claire.

Claire was about to say something but Jill stopped her. "Okay, thank you for your help." She smiled and grabbed her companions by their arms and led them out of the lobby. Once they were outside and away from security, she turned to them.

"You heard her tone and saw the look on her face. She was lying. Rebecca's in there."

"But why would she hid that?" Chris asked, confused by it all. Jill shook her head. "I don't know but there something fishy going on around here and I for one, intend to find out what. One way or another."

"I got an idea." Claire grinned mischeviously and motioned to the doctors taking a break on a bench. Chris and Jill caught on and nodded. Claire stood and went over to the four employees.

"Excuse me, I have an injured friend over here and need your help." She said. The employees looked at each then back at Claire, waiting.

"He's over there." Claire pointed to the parking lot. The four doctors nodded and went to the direction Claire pointed to. Jill and Chris snuck over when Claire gave them a thumbs up. The trio knocked out the doctors pretty easily.

"Now what? We have nothing to tie them up with." Chris said, dragging the fourth doctor behind the bushes. Claire thought for a moment and looked over the doctors. "Three of them have belts... We can use them to tie up their hands." She said, taking their white shin length jackets off. She handed one to Jill and another to Chris.

"Clever." Jill chuckled, putting on the jacket and buttoning it up. She kneeled down and helped Claire tie up the doctors. "What about the fourth?" She asked.

"Use mine." Chris took his belt off and handed it to Jill who took the belt and began wrapping it around the doctor's wrists. Once the last doctor was tightly tied up she stood and used her hand to brush her hair flat. She looked at the brother and sister then at the IDs on their jackets. "Claire let your hair down."

"What? Why?" Claire asked. Jill pointed to the ID pinned onto Claire's jacket.

"That way you'll look more like her."

"Oh, right." Claire took out the rubberband from her hair and ran a hand through the brown locks. Jill took a beret from one of the doctor's and handed it to Chris who looked at it - not noticing the color - and then looked at Jill blankly. "To hide your brown hair a little. His hair is black."

"Ah..." Chris nodded and put the beret on. Claire and Jill then began to chuckled, confusing the man. "What?" He asked.

"N-nothing...! You... Just..." Claire couldn't go on for her fits of laughter overcame her. Jill continued for her. "Pink looks good on you!" She grinned, pinching his cheeks.

"Hey! That's not-" Just then, Chris's jeans slipped from his waist and fell to his ankles.

"Oh!" Jill's cheeks turned a bright shade of pink, not able to tear her eyes away from Chris's monkey printed boxers. Claire stared for a moment before doubling over with laughter. Chris rolled his eyes at them and pulled up his jeans.

"Come on!" He growled.

--

"Those meddlesome friends of her's found her!"

"Don't worry. Let them get away with her for now. Inform Anna that they're here."

"But what if they find-"

"They won't, now go."

The slamming of a door echoed throughout the room. William looked at the serveillance cameras and smirked. He watched the trio make their way to the main elevator and head to the second floor.

"Like moths to a flame."

--

Anna stood and turned to the subject chained down on the examination table. "Oh, so you're awake." She said in mock surprise. Rebecca just stared at the woman in disgust. Anna smiled and went over to a sink. She washed her hands and slipped them into a pair of gloves. When she grabbed a scalpel and went over to Rebecca, the medic gasped.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're not serious about cutting me open, right?" She asked in a panicked tone. Anna placed the scalpel onto a small table beside the table Rebecca was currently laying on and tilted her head with a scary smile plastered on her rose colored lips.

"Calm down, sweetie. Think of it as... Paying a visit to the doctor's office." The woman replied in a tone so mockingly sweet, the medic wanted no more than to smack her.

"Oh yeah, because a visit to the doctor's office always gets you chained down and mutated into a hideous creature." Rebecca said sarcastically. Anna merely smiled her creepy smile as she continued along with her work.

Rebecca sighed and swallowed hard, wishing so badly that she were back at the apartment with Jill, Chris, and Claire. Anna placed an IV, alcohol wipe, and a pair of sissors onto the small table. At the sight of the new items the nervousness in the medic's body grew. Anna scanned the back of her hand for a vulnerable vein once she found one, she took the alcohol wipe and swiped it across the girl's skin. Rebecca winced when the IV's needle pierced through her flesh and vein.

"Why do you need an IV when you can just shoot me with the virus?" Rebecca asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Anna paused and looked at her.

"If you were awake then you heard the entire plan..." She answered, removing the needle from the thin tube.

"Yeah I did but... I don't get it. Even if I'm studying to become a doctor... Then again I'm not studying to use humans as expirements for bio-weapons."

Anna raised her brown eyebrows and pretended she didn't hear the last part. "Well then, listen carefully now because I won't repeat myself, got it?"

Rebecca nodded and Anna taped the IV in place. She connected a thin tube to the top of the IV and grabbed the sissors, she then began cutting off Rebecca's shirt. All the while Rebecca thought about what was in store for her later on. She couldn't help but curse at fate which was being cruel to her at the moment; letting these people do what they wanted to her. Anna tossed aside the pecies of fabric that were once Rebecca's shirt and put the sissors back onto the small table.

"There are two ways the T-virus can affect you. Despite the amount given, it can either kill you or mutate you. You in particular, haven't died or mutated at all and it seems the virus has been inside your blood cells for quite a while now." Anna leaned over Rebecca and grabed a handful of wires and a few **(1)**tiny, oval-shaped pads. She took the plastic off of the pads and stuck three onto Rebecca's chest. She grabbed tinier pads that were the size of circular pills and stuck those to the back of the medic's head.

"What I'm going to do is inject you with more doses of the T-virus and observe your reactions, such as mutation. If it's good then I'll give you a dose of a parasite called 'Baal'. If the results remain good then that's when I'll take some of your eggs and use them for recreating a being that will be able to handle the same injections." Anna connected a wire to each of the metal nubs on the pads and turned on the machine that the wires connected to.

Rebecca sighed and stared at the ceiling. A pinch hit her arm and she looked to see that Anna had began injecting the T-virus. For a good five minutes, nothing happened. Anna smiled.

"Looks like the T-virus is nothing but a summer's breeze to your body." She said, picking up a rather thick sterign filled with silver liquid. "Now for Baal."

Rebecca looked away and awaited her eventual death.

But nothing happened.

"Well that's..." Anna trailed off when Rebecca began coughing. She grabbed her clipboard and pen and began to jot down notes.

Rebecca coughed out a handful of blood and when she stopped coughing, the blood flowed out freely from the corner of her mouth. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes tightly but couldn't hold back the pain filled screams that eventually escaped. She felt her breath slip away and her heart began beating rapidly. The organ felt as though it was trying to burst out of her chest yet it never came close to doing that.

The pain coursed through her veins like wildfire and in seconds her entire body felt as though it were buring to a crisp. Her body jerked in all directions, trying to free itself from the chains that held her tightly to the table and her screaming faded away when she finally lost her voice. After what felt like forever, the pain finally washed away and Rebecca was on the brink of losing conciousness. She barely had any breath left but on the plus side, her heart was no longer trying to burst from her chest.

Though she felt nothing at all, she was positive she was still alive. She moved her fingers, toes and finally head - proving to herself that she was still alive. She opened her eyes, blinking away tears she hadn't noticed were there, and locked her gaze with Anna who was at a loss for words. Anna looked away from her and to something else. She lifted her hand from Rebecca's chest where the wires were at and occupied it with jotting more notes down.

The medic turned her head to what Anna was looking at and had to do a double take.

The dragging 'beep' finally reached her ears and the line that should've been going up and down, was a mere perfect line.

Rebecca was dead.

--

**" B o u n d & C o l d "**

Chapter Two

~ E n d

--

**(1)** _I have no idea what those are called but they stick to your skin and there's a metal thingy in the middle that connects to the wires and shows your heart beat or whatever else they're connected to. When I was in the hospital they were used to monitor my collapsed lung._

Wow that took forever! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter because I enjoyed writing it! Reviews are greatly appreciated and gives me motivation to continue.

Thank you;

_Malice_

_Afro Spirit_

For your Reviews!

**Bloopers**

_Anna nodded and went back to work while William went over to the examination table where Rebecca was supposedly sleeping._

_He looked over her petite figure, a smug look upon his slightly aged face. Rebecca felt his cold eyes on her and tried in vain to suppress a shiver though she didn't do much good in it. She hoped it went unnoticed by the man. Suddenly, she felt his warm fingers travel up her arm and across her bust. She held her breath as he continued down her front and stop at the hem of her shirt. The scientist pushed the fabric up and made small invisible circles around her naval. Rebecca's muscles tensed greatly and she tried so hard not to scream. However, that was beginning to be hard to suppress for William's entire hand slip up her shirt and the feeling of his hand on her skin finally made her shiver._

_"You damn pervert!" With great aim, Anna chucked her clipboard and hit William's head._

_(This pervy moment was brought to you by the Clean and Clear commercials, because it makes you dangerously confident! (I do not own.))_


	3. Almost Dead

_I'm just living a nightmare... Tell me that!_

--

**" B o u n d & C o l d "**

Chapter Three

--

Anna sat back with a sigh and put the papers from the clipboard into a folder. She put the folder into a service lift and sent it to the second floor. The walkie talkie beeped and a voice came over,

"I got your call, unlock the door." Matthew demanded. Anna went over to the double doors and swiped her ID into the slot. The doors to the lab opened and she was face-to-face with Matthew.

"Even after her heart stopped she lives. Stay here, I have to find William, he's not answering me on the walkie." Without waiting for a response, she brushed passed him coolly and left the room. Matthew sighed and ran a hand through his brown hair as he strolled over to Rebecca.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

Rebecca's glazed green eyes looked over to him and narrowed into a hard glare. "Do I have to answer?" She questioned, her voice hoarse. Probably from all that screaming... She thought.

Matthew smiled. "Not really... I'm starting up small talk."

The medic felt like punching him, why? She didn't even know herself. She just felt so... Angry... Much more than how she felt back at the apartment. Oh... I wonder where they are... She thought sadly.

"They won't come for me..." She murmured.

"Hm?" Matthew folded his arms. "What are you going on about?" He asked. She ignored him, or rather, she didn't hear him would be better for she continued to speak with no one.

"I got so angry for nothing. They were just worried. I wanted to apologize but then he..." Rebecca looked at Matthew with hatred, then she remembered - hours ago, he was the one under the mask.

"You brought me here. This is all your fault!" She snarled.

"Man you remind me of the Hulk." Matthew smirked, unfazed by her attempts to frighten him. Rebecca glared, struggling against the chains. "Why are you comparing me to that?"

Matthew shrugged. "I don't like you."

The medic froze, Well that was straight forward... She thought. She couldn't hide it though, it did hurt. Matthew raised a brow at the sudden silence.

"What, did I hurt your feelings?"

"No..." She lied, frowning.

"Aww, poor thing still has a heart despite the fact that it's dead. Quite ironic isn't it?" He asked with a smug look.

"I don't know... What you mean... And I'm not dead! It's impossible for the body to live without the heart!" She yelled, her voice cracking a bit. Why am I feeling so sad and angry? She thought. It's like I've gone overly emotional...

"The dead is considered unemotional since they have no heart, vise versa with the living." He smiled. Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"Oh and look at yourself, you're proof that it is possible. You're not breathing and the blood in your veins have stopped flowing. You're paler than paper, hun." Matthew laughed. Rebecca was silent, staring at him with a cold glare.

He's annoying you isn't he? A voice whispered to her. Rebecca blinked, looking around. She looked at Matthew to see if he heard the voice. He raised his brows at her. "What now?"

"N-nothing..." She frowned.

Kill him. The voice whispered again. What why would I do that? She asked. Because he's so rude to Rebecca... And besides, he doesn't like Rebecca. Can't you tell he's mad? Kill him before he kills Rebecca! It yelled. No! That's not a reason! I can't just kill people because of their opinion of me! I can't change that! She yelled back. Fine, then I shall force Rebecca. It laughed.

"No!" Rebecca screamed.

--

"There are only three floors after the lobby, one for each of us. It should be easy to find her if we split up." Chris informed, looking back and forth between Claire and Jill.

"Alright then, I'll take the second floor." Claire said. Chris nodded and looked at Jill.

Jill thought for a moment. "I'll take the fourth."

"And that leaves me with the third." Chris shrugged. The elevator stopped on the second floor and Claire stepped out.

"Wait!" Jill put her hand out to stop the doors. "How will we get in contact with each other?" She asked. Chris swore under his breath, he didn't think of that.

Claire looked around and spotted three walkie talkies on the information desk. "Walkie talkies will work... Come on." She motioned them out of the elevator and led the way down the hall. They stopped just before the information desk where three gaurds were talking to the attendant.

"...was established to her two weeks ago and she's going home for the first time." The attendant told the gaurds.

"Well that's good news." One of the gaurds said.

"Alright then, since you haven't seen the intruders well continue our scouting." With that said he and the other two gaurds left for the elevator that the trio came from. When the elevator doors slid closed, the trio casually went to the desk.

"Hey, Emily I thought you were on break?" The attendant asked, looking at Jill who stared at her blankly. Claire nudged her and she snapped out of it.

"Uhh, r-right... I, uh, decided to cut it short." Jill stammered, hoping the attendant would take the white lie. For a moment she was silent, then she smiled.

"Well since you're done could you take these files to the back?" She asked, handing Jill a folder. Jill looked at the folder and had to surpress a gasp.

"R-Rebecca Chambers?" She looked at the attendant who nodded.

"Yes, the patient. She came in about two hours ago, it was hard to put together that folder with the little time." The girl leaned closer to Jill. "Especially considering that Miss Chambers' condition was categorized as A."

"Why?" The trio asked.

"She was infected by that virus. Everyone was surprised that she wasn't mutated or killed, but luckily we got her before it did. Wait... Didn't you know this, Trish? She is in your line of work." The attendant looked at Claire with a perplexed look. Now it was Jill's turn to nudge her.

"Wha... Uh... Yeah, I knew... I-I just forgot." Claire responded quickly.

The attendant raised a brow, looking back and forth between Jill and Claire. "You two okay?" She asked.

"Peachy." They responded. Jill looked at the folder and then back at the attendant. "Where do I put this?"

"The back." When Jill raised a brow the girl shook her head. "Documents room, silly." She pointed to a door behind her desk.

"Ah... Right." Jill quickly went to the door, Claire and Chris following her. She grabbed the door knob and twisted it but it didn't move at all. "Huh?" She tried again, nothing. Jill gave a fustrated sigh and her shoulders fell.

"Hey look, it has a slot for some type of key..." Chris pointed out. Jill looked back at the attendant.

"It's locked." She said. The attendant gave her a weird look.

"You use your ID card, silly." She shook her head. "I don't think you should cut your breaks short anymore."

"...Right..." Jill grumbled, snatching her ID off of her jacket and swiping it across the slot. There was a satisfying click and the door opened, allowing the trio to enter.

The attendant frowned darkly and took one of the walkie talkies. "This is Amalia, the Redfields and Miss Valentine are on the second floor, Document room." She spoke. There was a bit of static and a voice spoke.

"Good job, Miss Cresent."

--

"Jackpot!" Chris grinned. Claire shook her head and pushed him aside lightly. While she and Chris scanned the room, Jill opened the folder and looked over the few papers it had in it. She spotted a yellow sticky note and read it.

_**"Blood Type AB**_

_**Specs of T have been flowing through her blood cells for a while now what if Baal was administered?"**_

"T... Baal...?" She blinked and looked at the next paper. Claire looked at her and walked over. "What is it?" She asked, Jill didn't answer but allowed her to look. Claire looked over Jill's shoulder and read.

**_"Chambers, Rebecca_**

**_19:36_**

**_An hour ago, Matthew was able to capture the subject. After analizing her blood I've concluded that many more secrets lies within this subject. For starters, her body accepts the T-virus without her dying or mutating._**

**_20:13_**

**_After injecting Baal the subject's body began thrashing in pain and she flatlined. I thought it was a fail but she is still alive, how is that when she has no beating heart? With the extraction of her eggs I may be able to recreate a being, just like her. We may have what Albert needs, our research is so close to a close and yet so far from it."_**

Jill blinked away a few tears. "Th-they've... We're.... too late?" She muttered. Claire shook her head.

"Don't worry we'll find her... And a cure... She won't die..." Claire said sternly. I won't lose another like Steve...

"So sorry to kill your mood, but there is no cure dearies."

"What?" Jill and Claire spun around, their eyes going wide at the sight. Chris looked over his shoulder to see what was going and felt rage overcome him immediately.

"Wesker!" Chris growled.

"So nice to see you again, Chris. The last place we met was the... Spencer Estate, right?" Wesker asked coolly, stepping into the room. Six gaurds filed in and grabbed the trio, two holding back one as he or she struggled.

"You are here for Chambers, but, the thing is, she is valuable to our research at the moment so don't expect to see her soon. Unless you want to experience the same nightmare as Claire did." He smiled, glancing at the woman.

"Bastard, why are you still alive?" Chris spat.

"It's quite simple, the virus ressurected me. But now that you're here, let's close the show. How does becoming food for my new pets sound?" He smirked and nodded to the gaurds holding the trio. As Wesker left the room, the gaurds pressed their guns to the trio's back and pressed the trigger.

--

"She hasn't mutated or died. Any abilities that she has gained from the viruses, I wouldn't know." Anna sighed. She and William entered the expirement lab and looked at the two-way mirror. When they did, they couldn't believe the sight.

"Wh-what?" Anna gasped, she ran to the door and swiped her ID card across the slot and the door opened. Before Anna could comprehend anything a sharp pain swiped across her stomach twice and she was thrown back by an incredible force. All the wind was knocked out of her lungs and blood quickly flowed into them. She rolled onto her side and looked up.

"Chambers... Has... Mutated?" She coughed, spilling a considerable amount of blood onto the white tiled floor. She looked around for William but he was nowhere to be seen.

When she looked back at Rebecca she gasped, the once sweet looking girl was far from sweet. Protruding from Rebecca's pale lips, which were pulled back into a blood thirsty scowl, were two razor-sharp fangs stained and dripping with blood. Her skin was so pale it had a blue tint to it, similar to a Tyrant but what made it odd was its metallic glimmer it held. There were light silver lines on her skin and Anna noticed that they were Rebecca's veins, the blood now silver and pulsating beneath the flesh.

Since Anna cut up Rebecca's shirt, the girl was walking around with on a black bra but it was hidden behind a canopy of platinum white hair that slithered down passed her thighs. The one thing that chilled Anna to the bone were her scarlet eyes that shined through the dark like a flashlight and especcially her pupils, which were slited like that of a cat's.

"Where are Rebecca's friends?" Rebecca demanded, her voice seemed to echo throughout the corridor as she spoke. Anna shook her head.

"I... I don't... Know...." She answered hoarsely. Rebecca growled and clutched her fists tighter to the point her sharp claws dug into her skin. She picked up Matthew, who was so torn up and bloodied that Anna felt like vomitting, and flung his corpse across the small corridor to where Anna was. Anna screamed and squeezes her eyes shut tightly, the sound of Matthew's body slamming against the wall and then the floor made her cry.

"They're on the second floor!" She screamed. Rebecca smirked and went over to the shaking female.

"This is the one... That expiremented on Rebecca?" She asked, raising her white eyebrows. Anna bit her lower, her hands were pressed to her stomach tightly and she was wheezing heavily. She felt warm blood trickle down her mouth freely when she tried to speak. The mutated Rebecca laughed bitterly and kneeled down to the woman.

"Fear and blood, beautiful combination, don't you agree Rebecca?"

"Why are you talking in third person?" Anna asked, finding the confidence that had left her. Rebecca gave a creepy smile.

"There's two of us in this shell." She answered. "So there is a reason for us to speak like so."

"Two... Personalities?" Anna gapped. Rebecca grabbed the woman by her shirt and stood up, lifting the woman from the floor. She ignored Anna's struggling and slammed her against the wall, Anna spluttering a good amount of blood on Rebecca's face. The former human swiped her free hand across Anna's face, leaving five gashes. The woman whimpered and ceased her struggling. The life in her eyes dimmed and Rebecca dropped her, she would let her die slowly and in agony.

Anna coughed and wheezed, trying to regain her composure but as she did she found herself losing conciousness quickly. In a matter of seconds she passed out. Satisfied that she was no longer awake and hanging onto her life, Rebecca turned to leave.

A blinking red light caught her attention and she looked at it sharply, tilting her head at the camera. That blinking red light irritated her. On... Off... On... Off... She growled and out of nowhere, the camera exploded.

--

The monitor went blank. "Very good..." William laughed, sitting back in his seat. He looked at a gaurd and motioned him over.

"Make sure she doesn't make it to her friends."

"Yes sir."

--

Rebecca's enhanced hearing picked up faint multiple gun shots going off below her feet and she stared at the floor, wondering how could she get below. Suddenly, gaurds rounded the corner and aimed their guns at her. Startled she stood frozen and felt her body being pulled down into the floor like quicksand. Before she knew it, she fell down a floor just as the gaurds began shooting at her.

Rebecca stood up and looked up at the the ceiling then around her. She spotted a sign that read 'Second Floor'.

"We'll deffinately get used to this." She smirked and ran down the hallway. She rounded the corner, passing a few doors, and then skidded to a hault when she arrived at an open area with an information desk in the middle. Amalia stood frozen behind the desk, a walkie talkie in her hand.

Rebecca grinned at her, the girl's heartbeat like a bell to her ears. "Fear... But no blood?" She frowned and glared at the girl. Amalia gasped and collapsed. The bell went silent.

Rebecca noticed the door, "Document... Room..." She read. "That's it!" She ran towards it and without wasting time she kicked it open with ease. "What?" She yelled in annoyance. Chris, Claire and Jill were no where to be seen.

Quickly, Rebecca back-tracked and ran down the corridor to the elevator. She passed the elevator and kicked open the door to the emergency stairs. Footsteps... Rebecca looked up and noticed a crowd of gaurds walking up the stairs. The scent of blood made its way to her senses and she growled, knowing it was her friends' blood. She hoisted herself up onto the railing and leaped up to the next railing the next one she leaped up to she grabbed a gaurd and tossed him down the flight of stairs.

"What is that!" Claire gasped. Jill grabbed Claire when Rebecca slashed down the two gaurds holding her and made a break down the stairs. One of the gaurds holding Chris let go and went after Rebecca who easily took him down with one punch. Chris dug his elbow into the gaurd's gut and kicked him down the stairs.

Rebecca's ears picked up the footsteps of gaurds coming down the stairs and she quickly grabbed Chris, tossed him (much to Chris' discomfort) over her shoulder and leaped down the railings two at a time.

--

Rebecca put Chris down and looked at Claire and Jill who stared back with fear. Don't kill them! Her concious (the real Rebecca) yelled.

"You are Rebecca's friends, right?" She asked. The trio nodded silently. She was about to say something when the sound of footsteps increased.

"Run now, talk later!" She growled and hurried them through the door. She stopped, she couldn't let anyone in the lobby see her then she remembered earlier. She went over to the wall and placed her hand on it. Closing her eyes tightly, the same feeling of sinking into quicksand overcame her and she reappeared on the other side of the wall. Luckily she was near the parking lot.

Rebecca ran for the parking lot and met up with the trio. She noticed that they had thrown off their disguises which was good because for a moment she thought Chris was a drag queen or something with that girly hat on.

"Wait, before we even go any further... Has anyone noticed we're talking to a monster?" Claire gasped. Jill and Chris were silent, they agreed with her but the with the way Rebecca looked, they didn't dare say anything.

Rebecca folded her arms and scowled at Claire. "Rebecca is-"

Don't tell them yet!

"Ah..." Rebecca frowned and looked at Jill and Chris. Chris scratched the back of her head and forced a smile.

"Well have to trust it... Er... Her..." He gulped, shifting when Rebecca gave him the most scarriest glare he'd ever seen.

"Fine..." Claire sighed. "Let's go home..."

--

**" Bound & Cold "**

Chapter Three

~ E n d

--

Another chapter that took forever! I got writer's block halfway through... But I finished! Sorry it took so long! Anyway, Happy Late Thanksgiving!

Thank you;

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**Divine Arion **

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For your reviews!

**Bloopers**

(There's two versions, I couldn't choose so I put them both here!)

"Man you remind me of the Hulk." Matthew grinned stupidly, taking out a Hershey's chocolate bar.

"Chocolate?" Rebecca stared. "Chocolate? Chocolate! Chocolate!!" Suddenly (still screaming chocolate) she tore through the chains and threw herself off of the table. "CHOCOLATE!!!" She shrieked, slamming her fists to his face. Matthew squealed like a little girl and doubled over in pain, clutching his bleeding nose.

"What the hell's your prob-"

"CHOCOLATE!!!!" She interrupted.

"You want some?" He screamed.

"God, do I? Yeah."

"Well here." Matthew split the chocolate bar and gave her a peice. Happily, Rebecca took it and munched on it happily.

(Part Two)

William turned around and glanced at the rows of expirements suspended in eight feet tall capsules. They looked back at him when he took out two 'on-the-go' Trix cereal bars and gave one to Anna. He noticed that the expirements were staring and shook his head. "No... No no no! Useless expirements, Trix are for scientists!"

"YOU SHARE!" They screamed simultaneously and in a matter of seconds, the capsules broke and the expirements lunged themselves at William and Anna. The Trix bars flew up in the air and during their time suspended in the air, the expirements had tore the two scientists into bits. As they came down a Tyrant snatched up the Trix bars and he and and his fellow expirements ran away.

(The "CHOCOLATE!" scene is brought to you by SpongeBob Squarepants and the "Trix are for Kids" twist is brought to you by Family Guy and the people that own the cereal. Remeber! "Crazy expirements only attack you for your candy and cereal!" (I do not own))


	4. Prelude to the Problems

_The plot gets thicker... and thicker..._

--

**" B o u n d & C o l d "**

Chapter Four

--

Squeaking. That's all Rebecca could hear. And it stung her ears like little annoying mice do with their peeps and squeaks, she knew now how cats felt whenever they heard those annoying little creatures. Then again that couldn't be the reason since cats liked anything that moved and was small and fluffy. The squeaking then grew into beeps that gradually sounded louder and louder until Rebecca's sensitive ears could take it no longer. Out of pure - innocent - rage she brought her fist down on to the source of the beeping and a loud thud and crash sounded followed by what she longed for, silence.

It was then she realized she just destroyed her only clock that was programed with two hours to wake her up for, which was work and school. She opened her eyes lazily and sighed deeply. "Man that was a horrible dream..." She said to no one in particular as she stood and went over to the dresser. She rubbed her eyes and looked into the mirror. To her horror, she looked exactly like she did the night before.

"It... Wasn't?" She gasped, moving closer to the mirror in utter shock and. "I can't be... A BOW... I just... Can't..." She shook her head, trying to shake off what she thought was a nightmare.

"Sad, but true."

Rebecca gasped and spun around.

"Over here bright man."

The medic bit her lip and looked back at the mirror. Despite her frown, her reflection was smiling at her. "How... Is that...?"

"Even if we're in our human form, this form will always be our reflection."

"Why?"

The reflection shrugged, raising it's eyebrows out of pure curiousity.

"Ah..." Rebecca frowned deeply. Great I'm talking to myself... I've really gone mad...

"We went mad when we refused to stay at the facility."

"What are you talking about? I though that was a good thing..." Rebecca asked, raising a brow, oddly enough the 'reflection' did as well and even moved its lip in perfect sync with her's.

"Well, for one thing, that's our home and to get us back they'll do something to our real family."

"Real family... You don't mean..." The reflection nodded, causing Rebecca to look down.

"Hey... We didn't know that at the time. Plus, we were just trying to protect them... So we can't feel so down for doing something rational."

Rebecca looked back at the reflection and sighed. It was right, she didn't know about the outcome and she shouldn't feel so down. Yet she couldn't help but feel responsible for everything. With all that happened, she couldn't think straight at the moment. I'll call in sick for school and work, atleast until I can understand this... She thought as she went to her closet. She threw out green sweatpants and an army shirt and grabbed her towel. She felt as though a shower would calm her nervousness for atleast a bit.

--

Rebecca walked into the hall, towel and clothes draped over her arm, and looked around. It was still dark, she guess it was close to sunrise. She looked behind her and saw that Jill's door was cracked open a bit. Curious? Jill and Chris are cuddled in the sheets. Claire is out on the couch.

"It's weird when you talk to me like that... And how do you know that?" Rebecca sighed, shifting slightly.

The easiest way to answer that is, just call me God! It laughed.

"Never... I don't think God would act or even talk like that... However... The devil would."

Oh you're not religious? I'm sorry, fine I'm the devil then.

"I never said I wasn't, I'm just saying don't compare yourself to God. If you want to compare yourself to anyone best do that with the devil."

So basically you're calling yourself the devil.

"...A religious one that really needs an exorcism." Rebecca sighed and walked into the bathroom.

--

At the sound of rushing water Claire jolted up and looked around. She was quite the light sleeper, obviously. She looked at the digital numbers on the DVD player and groaned. "Who would take a shower at six in the morning on a weekend?" She threw herself back and burried herself under the covers. However, trying to fall back asleep was like trying to put fire out with air. After a few moments of lying awake, Claire finally found the strength to pull herself up and drag her legs over to the kitchen.

I'll make some coffee while I wait for everyone else to wake up... She thought to herself as she got out the coffee maker. She took out the creamers, sugar and coffee beans and began to make the coffee.

While she waited for the coffee she went to check on Rebecca.

"She must be the one in the shower..." Claire said to no one in particular. She walked into the room, went over to the broken alarm clock and kneeled down to pick up the peices. As she carefully placed each shard into her palm she noticed a white cloth on the nightstand. It was stained with a bit of blood and she also noticed a few droplets of crimson on the cherrywood surface and the olive green pillowcase. The dusturbing thing about it was that it looked fresh. She thought it was from the alarm clock but when she examined the shards more closely, she saw no blood and none on the floor.

Is Rebecca still losing blood? She thought, a concerned look on her face. The events of last night flashing by in her mind...

_"...Are you okay?" A blurry Chris stepped closer to the transformed Rebecca who was holding her head._

_"Rebecca doesn't feel good..." She fell against Claire who, startled by the sudden weight on her, fell back onto the floor. __Jill gasped and kneeled down to Claire's side, bringing her hands to cup Rebecca's face. _

_"Chris! Get a towel! She's losing alot of blood!"_

_"Rebecca's tired..." The medic's head fell limply against Claire's chest and Claire could see the girl's blurry face covered with bright blood. __Chris came with the towel and handed it to Jill._

_"It's okay, you're okay now..." Jill whispered, wiping the blood from Rebecca's nose and jaw._

I hope she's okay... Claire thought sadly.

"You didn't have to do that... I was going to clean it up after my shower."

Claire looked up quickly and smiled. "Rebecca... Are you feeling better?" She asked, standing up with the shards of the alarm clock in her hands. Rebecca stared at her blankly, unsure of what to say. "...Are you?" Claire repeated after getting no response.

"...Of course I am... Why wouldn't I be?" She asked with the innocence Claire had longed to hear from the girl. However, her cluelessness made the motorcycle guru worry more and she looked Rebecca up and down. The medic looked normal now, with the exception of her brightly glowing eyes. There were no scary claws or fangs but instead somewhat manicured nails and straight pearly white teeth.

"Well... You're okay now... So..." Claire shook her head. "It's nothing..." It's best she doesn't know, one less thing to have nightmares about. She thought sadly. Rebecca just smiled and tossed her towel onto the bed.

"So, are you okay? You look shocked or something."

"Shocked? Ah, no I'm fine. It's just... Last night you..."

"Oh yeah... About that... Those people at the hospital... injected me with two viruses..."

"Two... Viruses?"

The worried look on Claire's face made Rebecca feel akward. "I'm fine now! Don't worry!" She said quickly. Claire's expression turned to confusion and she tilted her head. Rebecca was now stumped. "What's wrong?"

Claire shook her head. "It's nothing. Oh, look... The sun's coming up!" Claire quickly went over to the curtains and pulled them open, the morning sunrise was slowly beginning to surface over the horizon. Rebecca walked over to Claire and looked out over the city, people were just waking up and heading out to their weekend jobs. Some people were taking their morning jogs.

Claire looked at Rebecca and smiled. "Want some coffee?" She whispered, not really wanting to break the silence. Rebecca tore her gaze from the window and directed it at Claire. She thought for a moment, debating with other side if she should drink coffee. After many moments of waiting she nodded, "Sure."

Rebecca watched Claire leave the room before looking back out the window. For some reason, she was captivated by the people below. They were mindlessly going about their day, trying to make the best of the weekend by either sleeping in or getting things done that they couldn't do during the week.

Rebecca felt jealous of them.

They didn't have to constantly look over their shoulder to make sure no one was following. They didn't spend their nights awake in bed, fearful of what tomorrow was going to bring. They had families...

"Family..." Rebecca sighed, repeating the word over and over in her head. She'd love to go to her family but she couldn't, not anymore. After all that happened they'll probably tie her down and send her to a pysche ward. She wouldn't blame them... She was a freak now... She was one of them and no matter how much she tried to convince herself, she could never turn back.

Oh we can't be so gloomy. We're not that bad...

"_I, _can be gloomy... _You,_ are that bad. So bad you're an omen." Rebecca muttered, resting her forehead on the window's cool glass.

Ouch... Oh Claire's coming to give us our coffee. Rebecca raised her head and looked over her shoulder. Just as the BOW had predicted, Claire walked in with two mugs of coffee.

"Hope you like hazelnut." She smiled, handing Rebecca the hot mug. The girl smiled and took it in both hands. "Anything's fine really." She said, blowing the hot caffine before taking a hesitant sip. They stood in silence, sipping their coffee as the sun began to slowly peak over the facades.

Rebecca froze, her grip around the mug tightening and her body going stiff. The dim light glimmered painfully in her eyes as though acid had just been splashed in them. The feeling slowly migrated throughout her body and the pain increased to the point she couldn't handle it. Claire's concerned questions sounded like distant whispers in her head. Before she could comprehend anything, her mind went black and she felt her knees cave in beneath her.

_"Rebecca!"_

--

Edward Roland was nervous, so nervous he could've crapped his pants right then and there. As he shuffled around papers in his briefcase he pondered on the number of people entering the room. So far, there were 13 and more were filing in to hear his report. As the Vice President of Umbrella's Underground Labs, you'd expect for him to have some courage. There were five major Umbrella Labs in all and each were scattered around the world; North America, South America, Africa, Europe and Asia. Edward was the Vice President of the North American branch.

Edward took a deep breath as the last person entered the room and closed the door. He waited for the scientist to take a seat before nervously shuffling his papers again, then clearing his throat he began his lecture.

"Next to Steve, Rebecca is the only one injected with the T-Veronica Virus. However, before that she was also bitten, thus giving her the T-Virus. Yesturday Researcher Anna Niferio injected her with tG - not Tyrant - and Baal. With Tyrant she should have mutated along with tG, t-Veronica should have killed her and with the many failed expirements with Baal, it also should've killed her."

Scientist Fiona Fintan raised her hand and cleared her throat quite rudely. Edward looked at her and nodded for her to speak. Fiona smiled and spoke,

"From what I've researched, the T-Veronica Virus is useless as a Bio-Weapon as its mutation rate is low and it can only be transferred through direct injection. The Tyrant Virus causes rotting to the flesh and most notable is its ability to lower the brain functions. The tG-Virus causes immediate mutation to a human host and went as far as to change the gender of researcher Duvall. Miss Chambers's immune system must be extrodinary if she was able to dodge all of that." She smiled, giving a small laugh.

Edward nodded with a slight shrug. "You're right. She must have an extrodinary immune system for niether of them did anything. She's been walking around with the T-Virus in her for four years. The T-Veronica Virus has been in her for two years and tG and Baal, we have yet to find out. All we know about Parasite Baal is that it has given her a split personality that is much stronger that her original. It is aggressive and at the scent of blood, its aggression and hunger increases. Her appearance also goes through a change when the alter-ego surfaces. She gains white hair, red eyes, claws and fangs. Anna and Matthew have witness this side of Chambers and although Anna survived the attack and is now in recovery, Matthew was brutally killed."

The scientists in the room were silent, each of them registering the information greedily. Their eyes glittered with excitement and only one thought seemed to run through their mind at the moment and that was; 'I must get a hold of her'. After a long pause Edward decided to continue,

"Rebecca Chambers is the only known host who can accept every single virus. Her capture is a top priority but if we try to touch her she'll kill us without hesitation. The Arizona Branch was infiltrated by her group of friends and she escaped with them. We were told to lay low for now,"

"Why? With the soldiers that Wesker trained she shouldn't be hard to capture." Researcher Mitchel Dawn interrupted.

"It seems her unconditional love for her friends has enough power to have her agressive side protect them at all costs. It will be hard to recapture her but when we have her in our care again our first objective is to wipe her mind, calm the agressive side and plant a chip in the neuro network to control her. But with this combat data and her samples, we'll be able to create a being similar to her. Though that will take some time."

Antonio Ferranzo raised his hand and like Mitchel, he didn't wait for Edward to give him permission to speak.

"That's a great plan but if you think about it, recapturing her will be quite easy." He said confidently. Everyone looked at him immidiately, eagerly awaiting his thought as to why it would be easy. "If you think about it, every virus has a major weakness when entering a host, and that weakness is natural light. If she is exposed to it, would she be weakened or no?"

Various comments went around the conference table rapidly in a bundle of quiet murmurs but it all settled on a few words and nods. "He is right" seemed to be the only thing said. However, Fiona shook her head, "Yes you are right. Exposure to light can _sometimes_ kill T-Virus infected subjects and the vaccine for the T-Virus is called Daylight, but it must be taken _before_ transformation."

Antonio raised a brow. "Before transformation? How do we really know that she's really _mutated_? She's still alive and in her right mind despite having an alter-ego."

Every scientist and reseacher immediately broke out with theories and suggestions of injecting more viruses and expirements. Edward looked around the conference, it had never been so lively before and oddly enough, this excited him and he merely sat down and joined in the conversations... (And this is show as to how Umbrella scientists spend their day... Having orgies over expirements. -Authoress will be shot for that-)

Frederic Downing, a man who acted calm and collected, sat back in his seat in an observant manner. He adjusted his glasses and jotted down a few notes on a notepad as he listened to everyone's conversation with one another. A tiny jingle sounded from his slacks and brought the attention of some researchers and scientists upon him. Politely, Frederic gathered his notepad and excused himself. He exited the conference room and took out his cellphone. Putting the device up to his ear he spoke, "I just left the conference room..."

"Is there anything they know about her?"

"They know alot..."

"Anything useful?"

"I took notes."

"Good, fax the notes over and I'll handle it from here."

"Understood sir."

"Oh, and Frederic..."

Frederic paused, the man never called him by his first name. "Yes Albert?"

"I want you to dig up reports from the Racoon City outbreak."

Frederic bit his lower lip in annoyance. "That will be hard..."

"I know... Which is why I trust only you with it."

"Alright then... Goodbye." He sighed. Without a farewell, Albert hung up, leaving Frederic to ponder. How was he going to get any of the information Albert needed? This would deffinately lead to be a tough cookie...

--

**" B o u n d & C o l d "**

Chapter Four

~ E n d

--

No bloopers today but Merry Christmas!! You guys rock!!

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	5. Decisions

_When there is only darkness, you must search for light, grasp it and keep it forever…_

--

**"B o u n d & C o l d "**

Chapter Five

--

The darkness was heavy and suffocating. It was the only thing Rebecca could see and feel. Nothing wanted to move on her command although she knew she was lying down on her bed. She could feel the soft cotton beneath her pale fingertips. There was another thing she felt… A cool stingy feeling was covering her face. It felt good and refreshing, like after burning your finger on a pan and then running it under ice-cold water. Then she realized why that was so.

I fainted from the sun… She thought miserably.

Yes, it gave Claire quite a scare. Everyone thinks you are dying. Her consciousness mused.

Why would they think that? The young woman asked, panicking.

Because of me, you have no heartbeat and are not breathing, remember?

Rebecca did not answer. She forgot... Every second she lost something that made her human... The medic slowly opened her eyes to the cold, wet rag that was covering her face. She lifted her hand, grabbed the cloth, and placed it onto the nightstand. Once her eyes adjusted to the light, the acid came back but as a soft tingle. The small radiation of heat felt as though gravity was pushing down on her, hot and uncomfortable. She thought she would tear apart from it all.

"What's this feeling?" She asked aloud, trailing her fingertips along the edges of her face.

We are weak to the sun. The natural light is too strong for the dead flesh and acts like acid to it. The BOW informed.

"Lovely…" Rebecca sighed sullenly. She looked over to the window and once the sun's glare hit her, her body recoiled from the acid and in half a second, she was under the bed.

Why go and look directly at the sun? The BOW growled viciously.

"I-I don't know!" Rebecca gasped in surprise. "Did you do that? Did you make me run under here?"

No, our body did. Our reflexes are much more powerful and faster than they were before I came. They are so much more powerful and faster that it will make our body react without us giving it a thought.

"Do you have any control over me?" Rebecca asked, almost fearful of the answer.

Like this? No. Now shut up and get out from under the bed, Jill is coming.

Rebecca felt the alter ego push itself into the recess of their mind and fall dormant. However, it was still there, silently watching her every move and predicting everyone else's. The ego's dormant nature only gave her mind silence and nothing more. She still felt heavy and un-focused.

The door opened and the medic could hear Claire and Chris arguing over what to make for breakfast.

"Becca?" Jill's soft voice fluttered into the room.

I'm right here…" She answered, feeling embarrassed that she had to hide under her bed. Of all the things she hid from before, it had to be light.

"Why are you under the bed? Are you okay?"

"Of course… Uhm… Could you close the curtains?"

"…Okay."

Rebecca listened to Jill's hastened footsteps as she quickly crossed the room and closed the curtains. For a brief moment, Rebecca stayed beneath the bed. She wondered if she prayed hard enough, would disappear?

Not likely. The ego snorted. Rebecca sighed and pushed herself out from under the bed as slowly as possible. Once out she sat down on the bed and sighed at its cloudy softness.

"Are you feeling sick?" Jill asked and before Rebecca could answer, she pressed her palm to the medic's forehead. She sucked in a small intake of breath and uttered, "You're ice cold…"

Rebecca flinched away. "Yes… I guess that's what happens when you're suddenly turned into a bio-weapon…" Her voice grew heavy and thick as she spoke. "… You lose everything that makes you human…"

"Oh, Rebecca…" Jill shook her head. "You haven't lost everything. You're still you, right? Nothing's changed who you really are, and that's what matters, right?"

Rebecca looked up, her eyes locking gazes with her mutated reflection in the mirror.

"Yes… I guess so…" She scanned the room with her blue-emerald before settling them onto Jill's saddened face. She forced a small smile and stood up. The one thing she could do now, without putting Claire, Chris and Jill in danger, was to look for a way to get herself back to normal.

"I'm going to the university, if I leave now, I should make it there by tomorrow morning." It was a plausible lie but she hoped Jill still bought.

"Yes… But no." Jill grabbed Rebecca's hand and pulled her down. "Rebecca, you may feel better but you're in no condition to go anywhere. What if something happens to you?"

"It's better than putting you all in danger."

"And what if we want to help you?" Jill countered.

"I rather you don't." Rebecca said harshly. Jill flinched at the words.

"So you would push us away? Just because you're afraid of what you are now?" Jill murmured sadly. "You would leave us?"

Rebecca sighed in defeat. There was no way to get around them and honestly, she did not want to. She breathed in deeply, feeling the rush of air fill her lungs. There was no feeling of need for the oxygen to be there, it was only for when she spoke.

"No… I won't…" She murmured as she closed her eyes to think. "But it'll be dangerous being around me. They'll be after me you know?"

Jill smiled sadly. "I know."

"And you still want to be around me?" Rebecca questioned, opening her eyes to read Jill's face.

"Like I said, you're still you."

Rebecca was silent, why did she doubt Jill? Jill was a kindhearted woman and always treated her like a little sister from the start. There would be no betrayal.

Not likely, she seems determined to stick by us to the very end. The alter ego's voice echoed softly in her head.

"I want to get myself back to normal, and destroy that new virus." Rebecca said confidently.

Jill smiled. "I thought you would say that."

"Then you know what we have to do?"

"Of course," Jill nodded a determined look on her features.

"Then the decision is made," A voice broke into the conversation with a hard tone. Jill and Rebecca looked at the door to see Claire leaning against the threshold with her arms folded across her chest. Claire pushed herself off the threshold and stepped into the room.

"Chris and I were talking about the same thing and we overheard your conversation."

"So you agree?" Jill asked.

"Of course! I think... " Claire's voice trailed off as Rebecca began to daydream. She was silent as she unconciously began to have a quiet conversation with the alter ego.

I have a bad feeling about this... Rebecca thought fearfully. The BOW scowled at her in disgust.

You cannot be soft about this. I want to keep them safe just as much as you do.

But if we fail, and I don't return to normal and they get hurt or die... What are we to do?

If we fail, we turn around. If you are not human again, then you are not human again. They will not die, that is for sure. A few bruises but that's it.

Rebecca sighed, it was right. For a sadistic bloodlustful mutant, it was right. She couldn't predict the future but she knew what would happen if Umbrella continued to exist. She remembered the conversation between Claire and Jill and quickly focused on it.

"... We should infiltrate the place tomorrow at sundown."

"Let's use some of my savings from waitressing to get what we need. Does Chris have Barry's phone number?" Jill asked.

"I'm pretty sure he does, let's talk about this with him over breakfast." Claire suggested. Jill nodded and stood up. She was about to follow her out when she noticed Rebecca didn't move from her spot on the bed.

"Rebecca?" Jilled caught the woman's attention, she looked up in surprise. "Come eat, you haven't eaten anything since yesterday."

"Oh, right... Okay." Rebecca nodded and quickly followed her and Claire to the kitchen.

--

Frederic Downing was not a happy man. What was the point of digging up lost files from a city that was completely annihilated?

He looked down at the palm-sized touch screen device and saw that the two blinking blue dots were overlapping on an orange square on a green grid. He turned around and surveillenced the area around him.

He was standing at the edges of Raccoon City. Every single building that exsisted was either burned to ashes or burned down to the point everything caved in and looked like old sheds. Cars were half melted and missing everything but its skeleton. The ground was dry and grass refused to grow, even weeds.

Frederic stepped over the worn out 'caution' tape and adventured over the rubble and debris of a city. He tapped the blue dots on the device, a jingle played and a menu appeared. He tapped the choice 'show path', another jingle and a long red line began zig-zag and curve itself to his destination. Once it was done a blinking blue arrowhead appeared at the start of the line.

"If it was going to be this hard, I wouldn't have done this..." Frederic blew out a fustrated sigh and forced himself to continue on his way.

Ten minutes of walking and he reached a set of stairs that led down to what used to be the subway. Frederic stared at the entrance, the hairs on the back of his neck began to rise. A small, cold gust of air blew up from the old subway and tickled the tiny hairs on his face.

"Lovely..." He sighed. The crows perched upon the burnt stone railing began caw as he started down the stairs.

At the end of the stairs he noted the over turned train skeleton half melted and black.

"Over here Mister Downing."

Frederic jumped at the sound of the unfamiliar voice and spun around to see a pastey white middle-aged man with black wooly hair and dark eyes. A long white, brown-stained lab coat with the Umbrella logo on the chest pocket brushed the floor - hiding what he was wearing.

"My apologies if I startled you Mister Downing. My name is David and I'm in charge of this underground organization." The man said with an introducing smile. He held out his hand to Frederic and the man politely shook it.

"This way," David motioned to the over turned train.

"So what is this place?" Frederic asked as he hastened his pace to keep up with the freakishly tall man.

"The remains of Raccoon City of course, we use it to hide our facility." The man answered. He jumped down onto the train track and took out a pocket sized flashlight from his coat's chest pocket. He turned it on and lead the way further through the tunnel. "This is the back-up motherboard for Umbrella's research data just incase the one in Iceland is ever destroyed."

"Interesting..." Frederic mused. "So what kind of information and research do you collect?"

"Test subjects, new viruses, past incidents caused by the viruses and information on how to make the viruses better. We also get feedbacks on how expirements are going." David looked back at him for a brief moment before continuing. "Not only do we hold information, we also have bio-weapons and expirements. Sometimes, when things get out of hand, we try to clean it up as much as possible."

"When you say past incidents caused by the viruses, would that happen to include how this city was infected?"

"Yes. Lots of them, this city, the Arklay Moutains and even the Los Illuminados cult. We had to clean up that one. Tried finding a sample of the Las Plagas but found nothing." David was silent after that, leaving the man behind him to his thoughts. The tunnel's cement slowly merged into metal and a large steel double door blocked their way, preventing them to go any farther. David took out his ID and swiped it across a scanner. A confirmed beep echoed throughout the tunnel and the steel double door opened.

"Welcome." An automated voice greeted. When the men passed the threshold the door hissed closed.

As they walked down the hall Frederic noticed the walls were two-way mirrors that showed the expirements that were developed in the facility. They were all seperated in cubicles. Lickers, Hunters, Cerberus' - lots of creatures were there but only three belonged to a cubicle. Researchers were wandering the hall, studying the creatures or conversing with each other.

"Albert told me what you needed, but I don't understand, why not just send and e-mail stating what you needed?" David asked as they came to the end of the corridor. He swiped his ID again and the passage opened up to reveal another hall that branched off in two directions - left and right.

"I was curious, and I needed a trip." Was Frederic's dry answer.

"Why here?" David asked as they took the left branch.

"I don't see the point in me telling you why I came here physically." Frederic said sternly.

"My apologies." David apologized sourly.

Frederic noticed that they passed four doors before reaching the end of the hallway. They arrived at an elevator and David once again swiped his card through the keypad. The doors opened and they stepped inside.

It took about two minutes to reach the lowest level in the facility. A jingle sounded and the doors opened.

"Thank you for your assistance but I no longer need your help." Frederick stepped out of the elevator and in a swift motion, he pulled a customized pistol out from his belt and shot David twice. The gun was silenced so no gunshots rang out. Frederic swiped David's ID card and walked over to a large pillar in the middle of the octogonal shaped room.

Frederic placed David's ID into a card reader and the smooth face of the pillar began to spiral downward, revealing the motherboard. The screen flickered on and a search bar was the only thing shone.

He took the device he had from earlier out of his pocket and pulled a thin cable from it. He plugged it into the computer, the screen flickered to life and began to download all of the data from the motherboard. No more than three minutes passed and the downloading was complete. After taking back the ID card, he put the device back into his pocket and went to the back of the room where the entire wall was covered with screens that serveillanced each room in the facility.

"Control room as well? Interesting..." Frederic looked around the expanded keyboard until he found what he was looking for. The self destruct system. He flicked up the glass cover and pressed the red button.

"Warning, the self destruct system has been activated, all personel please evacuate immediately within the given time frame of five minutes. I repeat..."

Frederic had already made it to the elevator and was safely returning to the surface. He reloaded his pistol as he waited. The door opened and he swiftly back tracked to the surface, shooting down anyone and anything that tried to escape. One of the doors he passed earlier was forced open and had multiple slashes by something with sharp, thick claws.

"Lickers..." Frederic muttered and quickly reloaded his gun. He made it out of the branched hallway and quickly headed towards the door. It too had many slashes on it. Back in the first hallway the two-way mirrors were begin attacked by the creatures. One of the cubicles were empty.

"Albert will mock me if I don't kill them all." He sighed and ran the rest of the way out - again, he shot down any survivors.

As he ran down the tunnel he heard the peircing screams of researchers followed by the sickening tearing of their flesh and bones. The man shivered and readied his gun as he continued down the tracks and to the train wreck. Just as he thought, the Lickers were there, tearing ganwing and tearing on the researchers's corpses. Knowing that their senses were very dull he treked quickly and quietly around the train to the edge of the raised foundation. With his free hand he tried hoisting himself up onto the foundation but found it to be challenging. He held the pistol between his teeth and used both arms to lift himself up. Just as he swung his other leg up the pistol fell from his mouth and hit the floor with a loud sound.

The Lickers simultaneously lifted their heads to the sound the echo confirming what they heard. Another life was present. A ferocious growl ripped from their mutated mouths as they crouched down to spring forward and attack. Frederic quickly grabbed his gun and stood up, he checked his watch and swore under his breath. He was out of time and the faint explosions from behind him confirmed that.

The creatures lunged at him, while most missed he shot at them.

Two peirced one's chest.

One sliced through another's head.

Another hit the last on its leg.

Only two bullets and two Lickers remained. The explosions were getting closer and closer to the point he could feel the heat on his skin. The only choice he had was to run, but how...? He didn't care, allowed his feet to carry him around the Lickers and halfway up the stairs until the Lickers's slimey tongues sprung out and wrapped around his ankles. He held onto the railing to keep himself up as he turned himself around enough to shoot. He was only able to kill one before he ran out of bullets. The glimmer of fire caught his attention and the fear of dying crept up his spine. This was not how he wanted to die, not at the hands of mutated creatures. The Licker tugged on his ankle hard enough to make it snap. Frederic swore and his fingers slipped from the railing, dropping him to the stairs. His head cracked on the hard cement and before he blacked out completely, he saw the raging fire consuming the train wreck...

--

"So it's decided?" Chris asked, looking around the table at the beautiful faces of his friends and sister. He grabbed the plate of pancakes and put five fat, fluffy ones on his own plate.

"Yes, it's what Rebecca wants." Jill nodded, taking the plate of pancakes and serving herself she passed it to Rebecca who took it with a thanking smile. "Besides, they're going to be after her and to get to her they'll to go through us."

"And we'll be caught off gaurd, attacked and captured," Claire muttered as Rebecca handed her the plate of pancakes. She took the last and put the now empty pancake plate at the center of the table.

"I'll feel guilty because it's all my fault..." Rebecca sighed, pouring syrup onto her stack of pancakes. "The more I think about this, the more I honestly don't want you all to go..."

Even as you say that, you know we would need them. We can't do this on our own... Not with your weak will holding us back, we need them. The BOW's words were hurtful, but true. Rebecca sighed and looked down at her plate with a heavy depression looming over her.

"We didn't go through that stuff seven years ago for nothing, Rebecca. We're prepared for this." Claire assured.

"It seems we're the only one's who can stop Umbrella and its viruses." Chris said through a mouth full of pancakes.

Jill laughed when a piece of pancake dropped from his mouth. "How about eating with your mouth closed, first?"

"What? I'm a man." Another piece dropped from his mouth and the three girls laughed in unison. Jill grabbed a napkin and wiped Chris' mouth. Claire nudged Rebecca to grab her attention and said,

"It's at times like this you remember that he's younger than her." She teased, loud enough for him to hear, Rebecca giggled. She watched the two siblings argue playfully while she picked at her food.

Worried? The BOW asked softly.

Yes. Rebecca nodded and slowly ate a fork full of pancake squares. Although I should be happy that they are willing to help me, I still feel guilty. Something's going to happen that I can't help... It's going to be my fault.

If I don't, then this depression will kill you first.

Can you blame me?

Rebecca felt the ego scowl at her in disgust. Hmph, no... But of all the ways you could die its the most stupid. It muttered, sounding as though it was offended.

So you're saying that it's stupid for me to die from depression than dying from you, a parasite in my head? How can you think that's much more _deserving_? Rebecca asked, shoving another fork full of pancakes into her mouth. The ego scowled at her again, this time with hatred.

Can you blame me? It replied sourly. Rebecca paused, losing herself for moment, and thought hard. She _can_ blame it, she can blame it for everything. For taking away what made her human... For altering her body... For striking fear into her friends and, despite their wrongs, killing those innocent people... She wanted to but for some unwanted reason she couldn't. The medic shook her head and sighed.

Honestly... No...

Why?

Because... I don't want to die depressed... If I do die, because of you, I want it to be because I was too late to find a cure... Rebecca replied morbidly. She had already figured out that when the parasite killed her, it would take over her mind and make her body its own. I just have a favor to ask...

And what is that?

Keep my friends safe.

Deal... Can I get a favor in return?

What could a parasite want? Rebecca almost laughed at the thought.

For you not to die. For you to keep them safe yourself. For you to stop saying you're weak and saying it's all your fault. It growled.

"I'll try..." Reecca sighed and looked down at her empty plate. Claire looked at her and patted her shoulder. Jill poured a cup of orange juice for her and placed it next to the empty plate.

--

**" B o u n d & C o l d "**

Chapter One

~ E n d

--

Sorry for the long wait but it's finally done!! YES! I have not given up on the story, there's still a lot of ideas and the plot will be getting very thick after this!

Thank you;

**KT324**

**Malice**

**Pezgirl1**

**Devine Arion**

**USWeasilgirl**

**UntitledOne**

For your reviews!

**Bloopers**

_We are weak to the sun. The natural light is too strong for our dead flesh and acts like acid to it. The BOW informed._

"Lovely…" Rebecca sighed sullenly. She looked over to the window and once the sun's glare hit her, her body recoiled from the acid and in half a second, she was on the floor thrashing about. She flaired her arms wildly around her and her legs kicked and slammed against the floor.

You donkey! Why go and look directly at the sun? The BOW growled viciously.

_Rebecca screamed, "AHH! AHAAA! AH! AH! I'M MELTING! I'M MEEEELLLLLTIIIINNNG!!!" And just as she thought and felt, she was, indeed, melting into a pile of gunk..._

(I do not own the Wizard of Oz or that creepy vampire witch...)


	6. Discusions

_Death is certain, life is not…_

**" B o u n d & C o l d "**

Chapter Six

Leon sighed sullenly, as his gaze scanned the horizon of Phoenix he found himself wondering why he was there in the blazing heat. He stood outside, leaning on the railing of the balcony just outside his hotel room, clad in only a gray faded crew shirt and dark - slightly tattered - pants. His wet dirty blonde hair dripped water into his eyes but he gave no notice to it; in fact, he invited the water drops that rolled down his cheeks and neck – leaving trails that cooled his overheating skin.

I'll have a nice red 'tan' by the time I head back to Washington. He thought bitterly as he bit into a toasted bagel smothered with strawberry jam. A few minutes of silence passed as the government agent slowly ate his breakfast, not quite anticipating the moment the phone on the counter in the air-conditioned room would suddenly start to ring. He knew who it would be and how the conversation would go; Hunnigan would ask of his 'current status and location' and he would reply uninterestingly; "Fine, at a hotel in Phoenix." She would nod then wish him good luck and the call would end there.

It was only when he went out on missions that she would act uninterested. She would merely be concerned with his success in the mission, nothing more. Then again, even off duty she acted confidential. Maybe Leon had a problem, one that would trigger an odd emotion in woman and make them shy away from him.

Even Ashley kept her distance in the passed year after the Los Illuminados incident, but at least she did not fail to drop a call every now and then. She knew he was not interested; he made that obvious with his decline when she asked if he would do 'overtime'. Then she did something unexpected, she accepted the role of friends and invited him to private parties. At those parties she would start up a conversation between one of her friends, mention something fascinating that Leon did to get the friend interested and then politely excuse herself to give them time.

Of course, He did not notice at those times, she played it out very carefully so that he would not notice but when he finally did and she asked him to join her in attending a party – he politely declined. After the first few declines, she realized that he found out her scheme and apologized. That threw him off even more. Ashley was too stuck up to apologize or show weakness. He always saw her as a one of those girls on a child's show that played the role as the stuck up captain of the cheerleading squad. That image of Ashley was slowly changing, even now, as he thought of her.

With one last glance at the mountains' peaks, he turned and traveled back into the cooled hotel room. He closed the door leading to the balcony and crossed the room to the only known entertainment in the room.

Leon sighed and plopped down on the tan love seat, grabbed the remote and turned the television on. He flipped through the channels, too quickly to search for a specific one, as his gaze flickered to his phone, clock and then back to the TV. He settled on the World News channel and turned the volume up. Still hungry from the previous day's traveling, he decided to order a real platter for breakfast.

He gaze lingered on the clock and he groaned. Just half an hour ago, he had just awakened to the rising sun, taken a shower and eaten a quarter of meal. It was seven in the morning and the minutes continued to peel by slowly.

Leon forced himself to sit up straight and lean over to grab the phone from the receiver that was sitting on the tan wooden coffee table. He dialed the numbers for room service and waited.

After two tones a soft, yet oddly strong, voice chimed, "Room service."

Leon quickly collected himself for he was thrown off by the woman's oddly familiar voice. "Um, I'd like to order a breakfast platter."

"Yes of course, what would you like?" The woman asked, yes she definitely had a familiar voice, but who…?

Leon looked at the menu beside the receiver and quickly decided on the first option. "The western omelet special."

"With or without cheese?"

"With."

"Toast or muffin?"

"…Toast, wheat."

"Drink?"

"Coffee, no decafe. Cream and sugar."

"Alright, your order is the western omelet special with cheese, wheat toast, coffee with cream and sugar - no decafe. Anything else?"

Leon did not answer; the face in his mind went so right with the voice that spoke over the phone. His heart skipped a beat and he drew in a quick breath, but despite his eagerness to see the woman, he doubted it was her. Why would she be in Arizona?

"Sir, are you," The woman began but Leon interrupted her.

"Claire?" He answered anxiously. There was silence and the woman cleared her throat.

"Eh... Excuse me? Who?" She asked. Leon sighed, feeling his stomach disappear.

"No, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, your order will be up in twenty minutes."

"Thanks…" Leon said quickly. The call ended and it took him a moment to put the phone back onto the receiver. With a dragging sigh, the agent threw himself back against the couch and stared at the TV.

"Claire…" He muttered solemnly. "How long has it been…?" He whispered to the beautiful olive toned reporter. She stared straight at him and for a second he thought she was about to answer him. She did not; instead, she went on talking about a heat wave and 'summer fever' in India. He was not listening.

How long had it been since he had seen the blue-eyed brunette? The last communication they had was almost six years ago when she sent him an e-mail to him stating that she had been captured by Umbrella during her search for Chris. He nearly had a heart attack and quickly contacted Chris to tell him of the woman's whereabouts. After almost a month's wait, Claire called him and they spent the entire night talking.

A startling ring ripped through Leon's train of thought. He looked over to the counter and noticed his phone vibrating on the marble surface. With a sudden burst of energy, Leon sprang up and crossed the room to the counter. He swiped up his phone, tapped the 'answer' on its screen.

"Leon," Ingrid greeted in her usual tone.

"Hunnigan, what's new?" He asked casually.

"Are you watching the news?" She replied coolly.

"Not really, but it's on."

"Which one?"

"Um," He glanced at the television. "World News."

"Good, did you hear about India?"

"Um, no."

Ingrid sighed heavily. "That was important. I think we have a clue. I'm going to send you feed back from it but for now turn it to the local news."

"Why not just tell me what's going on?"

"Because you need to work."

Leon tilted his head with a peculiar expression adorning his features. "Isn't risking my life good enough?"

Ingrid chuckled dryly. "Enough excuses Kennedy," She scolded lightly with a gentle glare.

"Sorry." He apologized whole-heartedly.

There was a brief pause for a smile to crack through her defenses but she immediately caught herself and the brick wall slammed into effect as she began to inform him of the news.

"A heat wave in northeastern India has been going on for six days. The temperature those days was never below ninety-nine degrees, the heat sucked the life out of the agriculture, and crop growth has dropped significantly. Not only that, right before the heat wave a factory was reported having a history of chemical leakage for a whole month. Scientists think that due to the leakage it reacted to the oxygen violently and impacted the climate and citizens dangerously. Over the passed week, over two-thousand-five-hundred and eighteen people have died from an unknown influenza caused by the chemical."

As Leon took in this new information, he watched the local news. Nothing new was going on in Phoenix. A stolen car left on the highway, kidnappings in Tucson. Nothing.

"A researcher was sent to monitor the people in the infected areas of India." She continued.

"And what did he find?" Leon probed.

"She," Ingrid corrected before continuing. "The chemical compound in the air is indeed what we expected; Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, lead, particulate matter, ozone and… Type Four Plagas, also known as Baal – the successor to the Plagas parasite in which the host has complete control – only if its body is strong enough. The parasite is also known to communicate with its host, driving the host mad until he or she finally gives in.

"Undeveloped, the parasite is found in the main arteries, once inside the heart and lungs, it stops the process. Then it attacks the host's spinal cord - the link to the rest of the nervous system - and reverses the body's normal ways of survival."

"Reversing normal ways of survival? What do you mean?" Leon asked, still fixated on the TV and Ingrid.

More stolen vehicles and now economic concerns. Then kidnappings again. Finally, it was something important. WilPharma development in Tucson, Arizona? Leon scooted to the edge of the couch.

"Breathing, the use of a heart and sleeping are not useful anymore. The sun burns the flesh. Eating and drinking liquids causes the host to fall ill. The host also loses interest in the things that make them who they are, examples of that would be subdued language and lack of emotion towards friends and family. They'll function only on self-preservation while the parasite spreads itself through the rest of the body."

"So everything that makes them human is stripped from them and then finally, they lose their mind and heart…" Leon frowned deeply. "Any other symptoms?" He questioned. The reporter on the TV announced that WilPharma's desperate attempt to put itself back on top of Tricell went as far as to them opening the first hospital for vaccines and treatments to foreign sicknesses.

"The usual of any other Plaga; aggressive behavior, coughing up of blood, convulsions and the eyes glow in dark areas. Something new is that the eyes become mirror-like when a light shines at them."

"Do you know about WilPharma's development in Tucson?" He asked suddenly.

"Yes, why?"

"What do you know about it?"

"It is quite suspicious, why they would go so far as to open up a facility like that, knowing Tricell's leaders plays dirty just as much as they do. They could send out agents to steal the vaccines and use them as their own."

"Did you hear Senator Ron Davis is involved and supporting WilPharma? He supposedly allowed research and testing of the t-virus."

"Interesting, before your trip to India," She smirked at his horror-struck expression. "Take a stop in Tucson, check out WilPharma's facility and then rest up. We'll have you on a plane to India by Sunday."

"I have no objections?" He gapped.

"Of course not. Good luck, I'll check back with you in an hour." And with that the transmission ended.

Leon sighed. "Great…"

There was a knock at the door and gruff voice called from behind it, "Room service!"

Leon sighed again, that was not the kind woman who answered his call earlier.

--

Rebecca stared at the warm brown curtains, wanting desperately to look out the window, to watch Barry's two little girls play on the lawn with their new puppy. She could hear their laughter and the puppy's barking with her sensitive hearing, but she longed to see it – to be there laughing with them. She could picture it all too clearly in her head, the beautiful girls running back and forth, up and down the lawn wearing identical sundresses; one yellow, the other orange. Her hand clutched at something soft and silky and she was about to push it to the side but at the sound of her name she froze.

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" Chris' concerned voice sounded too close and Rebecca flinched away. She looked at Chris who frowned.

"I'm sorry…" He said softly as he reached out and loosened her grip on the curtains. "Come sit down."

Rebecca merely stared at him as though he had said nothing at all. Was I really about to pull the curtains back? She thought.

Yes… For some odd reason, Rebecca could of sworn she heard regret deep in the ego's tone. Then it hit her,

"You did it…" She muttered to the ego, feeling it stir within her. Chris blinked in confusion, unconsciously gripping her wrist tighter than it already was – it would be impossible for her to remove his hand.

"Did what?" The marksman asked.

Rebecca drew in a sharp, angry hiss and with impossible strength, and speed, she managed to pin Chris to the wall with her tiny hands closing off his only air supply.

"Re…becca?" Chris choked. How could she…?! How could this tiny, sick and fragile looking woman be able to lift – or even hurt – a fully grown man?

"Chris!" Claire dropped the tray of snacks onto the coffee table and rushed over to Rebecca, her hands immediately closing around the smaller woman's forearms.

"Rebecca let go!" Claire cried, jerking the woman's arms, desperate to pry her away from Chris.

The medic barely felt Claire's feeble attempts to remove her hands. Though they looked to be very fragile they were much stronger. The flow of Chris' intake of breath - once rushing - began to slow. She could hear his heart beat slow until it finally stuttered to a stop.

A depressing silence filled the room as Rebecca finally released Chris. Claire stared as the marksman's body slumped to the floor, a serene expression on his face as though nothing had happened. He could have been unconscious – she wanted so desperately to believe that - but there was no familiar rise and fall of his chest.

Chris was dead, the definite truth of those words were false to Claire. Her breath hastened and her heart raced, she barely heard the words that left her lips or felt the sobs that shook her body.

"No, no, no, no… Chris…" She muttered this over and over in disbelief. Rebecca gazed at the siblings, Claire had fallen to her knees and pulled Chris' torso onto her lap, she waited to feel the heavy feeling of remorse weigh her down. Claire sobbed and cried and that enough should make the remorse thicker and heavier.

There was nothing but an odd sense of finality and a hint of fulfillment. As she watched she began to feel sorry for the woman and her brother. She was mourning over the loss of her only sibling and he was asleep. Peaceful. Unaware of his sister's cries for him to impossibly wake up.

Rebecca sighed, she knew what she had to do to end Claire's misery. It was the least Rebecca could do. She reached out to press her hands to Claire's face but was distracted by a familiar voice…

"Are you sure about this?"

The medic looked up from Claire to the owner of the voice. She met with the human, emerald eyes of her host. Her eyes were narrowed and filled with sadness, lips pursed into a tight frown.

"Do you really want to forget them? Are you finally going to give up?" She asked. The room disappeared and they were surrounded by darkness. Claire and Chris were no longer there, just Rebecca and Rebecca.

"Is that what you want?" The human asked gravely. "To give in and forget them, give up everything that's makes you, _me_?" She gestured to herself. "Give up and you will become _this_."

Rebecca took a step back when the replica jerked forward. There was a sound of ripping flesh deep within the replica's body and Rebecca realized she was mutating.

The replica's peach skin turned to a sickly yellow color, the flesh bubbled as though it were reaching its boiling point. More of the ripping flesh sounds and now the sharp cracks of bones as they stretched and reformed the body to a height reaching eight feet tall. The skin paled to white and the bubbling ceased but the sickening sounds were much louder, almost piercing. Black plaga long thin tentacles ripped from the host's back, and stretched themselves out to an astonishing length of almost twenty feet. As the sounds of ripping flesh and bones ceased, the skin's white color darkened to a gray shade and the texture was no longer flesh but instead pure stone.

A sharp piercing roar ripped from the creature's chest. It bared its razor sharp teeth at Rebecca and crouched over, dug its claws into the darkness and readied itself for attack. After another sharp roar it lunged after her…

Rebecca jolted up, tears pouring from her eyes as she looked around the room frantically. A heated cloth fell from her forehead and landed onto her lap.

"Are you okay?" Chris familiar voice, alive and filled with concern soothed Rebecca. She drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Burying her face into her knees she began to cry. There was no need for words, Chris knew she was in pain again. He wrapped his arms around her, her body quivering violently under them.

"I'm scared…" He heard Rebecca choke and gasp on tears.

"I know." The marksman held her tighter, careful as to not cause her anymore pain.

"…I have to throw up again…" As if to give him proof, her body tensed and she gagged.

Chris helped Rebecca bend over the bucket beside the bed and looked away as she emptied the contents out of her stomach. He glanced back at her and rested his hand on her back, she flinched but did move away.

Although she knew it was just a dream, she could not relinquish her mind of the images of Chris' dead body and what she could become. Deep with in the recesses of her mind, Rebecca felt the ego recoil from those images and for a split second she felt the ego's lust for blood reach out for her.

You would kill him? Rebecca asked, already knowing the answer to her own question. The ego stirred and buried itself deeper into her mind, making it harder for her to hear its thoughts.

"Rebecca?" Chris' concerned voice pulled the medic out of her thoughts. "Are you feeling any better?" He asked when her attention was on him.

"Better?" She repeated, watching his expression turn from concern to confusion. "Ah, yes of course." She looked away from his speculating gaze.

Chris pressed his palm to her forehead and sighed. "You're still cold... Do you want another blanket?" He glanced at the thick layers of sheets and frowned. It was already hot and dry in the room, if she was any warmer he feared she would melt.

"Maybe not... How about something hot to drink instead?"

"No." Rebecca replied curtly. She looked back at him and felt guilty for his shocked and hurt expression that he tried so hard to hide. "It would just make me sick again..." She frowned sullenly.

"But you need something in your system, Rebecca. All that throwing up of bile is going to strain your body - listen!" He growled when she looked away. She flinched away from him and he sighed. "I'm sorry... I'm just worried, we all are. Please, eat something."

"No." Rebecca shook her head and she felt Chris rise from the bed. She looked up at him from under her lashes and saw the anger in his eyes.

"You're going to eat, Rebecca. I'm not going to let you starve yourself so you can speed up your death!"

The shock inside Rebecca was quickly replaced with anger. "I can't eat! I don't have an appetite!" She confessed. The alter ego was suddenly there, tense and angry just like she was.

"When I ate this morning the taste was off. Then lunch came and it had no taste at all and only upset my stomach. I tried to force it down but it eventually came right back up..." Her voice disappeared and she put her hands over her mouth as she began to cough.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know." When Chris rested his hand on her shoulder she recoiled from it and glared at him, forcing out words in between her hoarse coughs. "Ugh... Please... I just... Want... To be... Alone!"

Not wanting to make her any angrier than she already was, he obliged to her wish and unwilling left the room. Chris leaned against the closed door and sighed, eyes closed. For a while, he listened to Rebecca's coughs, flinching at the ones that sounded painful, as he thought over what she said.

"Chris? How's Becky?"

The marksman opened his eyes and they focused on Barry, he did not bother to hide his expression. The man flinched, "Not any better, huh?"

Chris shook his head, Rebecca's hoarse coughing and gagging could be heard in the silent hallway. Barry flinched again and sighed solemnly. "Are we going to lose another family member to that forsaken virus?" He asked morbidly. Chris did not answer but it was apparent that he asked the same question.

"If the virus doesn't kill her, she'll die trying to find a cure."

Barry and Chris looked towards the new voice. Jill joined the two, holding a tray topped with a bowl of soup and hot tea.

"We can't be oblivious to her determination. She forces herself to believe that there's people out there just like her."

"All we can do is help or leave her be and I certainly won't leave that kid to fight the big dogs all by herself." Barry scowled at the idea.

"I agree." Jill nodded with a smile.

Chris pushed himself from the door and stretched. "I'll wake Rebecca up when it's time to go." He looked at Jill. "Where's Claire?"

"She decided to take a nap."

"Good. You should rest as well, we have a while before sundown."

"What are you going to do?" Jill asked.

"Get everything together." He answered. Seeing that she was about to protest, he added quickly, "I'll rest afterwards. It won't take long, I promise." He smiled reassuringly.

Jill pursed her lips together, her expression speculating. Finally, she sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll drop this off to Rebecca and rest as much as I can."

"Her body is so weak it's not letting her eat..." Chris told her.

Jill sighed and went to the door anyway. She waited for him to step out of the way.

"Are you sure?" Chris asked her.

Jill nodded and he stepped out of the way, letting Jill into the room.

--

THANK YOU!

**Malice**

**KT324**

**DivineArion**

**pezgirl1**

**USWeasilgirl** (The Host actually inspired this. I had a dream about Rebecca having an alter ego and their relationship was kind of like Wanderer and Melanie's.)

For your reviews!!

Bloopers (couldn't think of any XD)


	7. Calm Before the Storm

_"I can't believe the news today. Oh I can't close my eyes and make it go away.  
__How long? How long must we sing this song?  
__...Broken bottles under children's feet. And bodies strewn across the dead end streets.  
How long? How long must we sing this song?_" - U2

* * *

**B o u n d & C o l d**

Chapter Seven

* * *

Leon wasn't sure what to think of this new mission. He thought it would be just like the one in Spain, a rescue turned into a horrible test for survival. Reliving the nightmares in his sleep were only half of the fears that haunted, and may still haunt him in future dreams. There was always a feeling that the plaga was still swarming inside of him, ready to turn him into a mindless monster.

The nightmare was over. It had to be.

But why was he in Arizona? Why was he on another mission that may turn out to be another test for survival?

Leon wasn't sure anymore… With a dragging sigh he zipped up his last bag, tossed it on to the couch, and glanced at the digital numbers on the cable box.

"Two forty-one…" He murmured, remembering that Hunnigan had informed him of how long it took to get from the hotel he stayed at in Phoenix to where the WilPharma Treatment Facility was in Tucson.

Leon grabbed his cell phone and slipped it into one of the many pouches on his belt. By the time he had checked out of the hotel and was driving towards the highway, it was already around 3:14.

"Turn left on…" Before it could even finish, Leon had tuned out the automated voice of the car's navigation system. It was a mere whisper at the back of his mind but his body was still alert and following its directions.

His thoughts were somewhere else, scattered by his many concerns. WilPharma, Tricell and the feeling of Umbrella's never ending existence seemed to weigh him down more than anything.

When Umbrella went out of business and was declared 'no more' – he thought he could breathe a sigh. Everyone that lived in Umbrella's nightmares thought they would be free. Of course they were wrong.

Leon's hands unconsciously clenched around the steering wheel tightly and his eyes narrowed into a hard glare. His concerns were not something that made him happy. The man breathed deeply and pressed the button for the window to go down. He released it when it couldn't go any farther and sighed at the feeling of fresh air rushing in.

Although the air wasn't as cool at the air conditioner, it was much more refreshing and actually calmed him down.

* * *

By the time the government agent reached Tucson, the blazing sun was already setting. It looked like a wildfire was dying out on the horizon, taking the day's one hundred degree weather with it.

Leon had pulled into a gas station that was conveniently placed half a mile after the exit that led into the city. His stomached growled, notifying the man that it was empty. Almost at the same time that his abdomen groaned, the phone in the cup holder rang.

"Hunnigan," Leon said when he answered the call. He took the keys out of the ignition and shoved them into his pocket. The agent exited his car and headed for the small store.

"Leon, I've got some good news."

"Oh great, I'd love to hear it." The man didn't sound as enthusiastic as he intended to but it was a good thing to hear. Once he entered the store, he began browsing around – looking at the many snacks on display.

"No need to go to India, the new BSAA already deployed their operatives."

"That's great, and at the same time it's not." Leon said quietly as he chose a fruit bowl, protein bar and two bottles of vitamin water. After everything was paid for he grabbed the bag with his so called dinner in it and proceeded back to the car.

"Oh, well why would you say that?"

"Because I get paid to get myself killed."

"Technically, you do not get killed."

"Well then I get into so much danger it renders me-"

"Leon," Hunnigan groaned, but the slight amusement to her voice made the man grin. "Enough whining, I'll update you in an hour."

"Alright then," Leon ended the call and put the phone back into the cup holder. As he re-entered the car, his mind began to wander just as it did earlier that morning and during the drive. What would he do if this mission turned out to be another unusual turn of events? He certainly didn't want to relive yet another nightmare.

"Then again, I can't see myself not roaming around in them…" He sighed to himself as he sat back, wondering why didn't he just stick to wanting to be a doctor. Why he didn't just go for working two jobs to pay tuition. Then it dawned on him, the same reason he wanted to become a doctor was the same reason why he was a police officer and government agent; to save and protect the people around him. He chuckled to himself, easier said than done.

Leon stretched, the feeling relaxing his nerves and muscles, and began to eat his small dinner.

* * *

As Leon tossed the empty bowl and bottle of vitamin water back into the bag, something passed his peripheral vision. Alarmed, he looked up quickly but saw nothing. He then looked to the store to see that someone had entered and looked as though they locked the door. He didn't know that was possible. The cashier said something but the person didn't respond, they merely sauntered forward.

Leon furrowed his eyebrows as he watched the person walk toward the cashier. Sensing something wrong, Leon quickly opened the glove compartment, grabbed his gun and shoved it into its holster.

When he looked to the store he froze, not believing what he had watched unfold. The person had grabbed the cashier's shoulders and for a moment, it seemed as though they kissed - but the expression on the cashier's face said otherwise. Then the person pulled back from the cashier and blood poured from the cashier's missing jaw.

Leon left the car once again and didn't bother closing the door. He ran for the store and without hesitation, shot at the double doors. After a few shots the glass shattered. The few people that were inside the store, other than the creature and the cashier, ran out from the new exit.

Angry, the cannibalistic person turned to Leon, his mouth and clothes covered in blood. He growled and briskly ambled towards his new prey.

"Man, didn't your mommy ever teach you how to wipe your mouth?" The agent asked, gaining only another angry growl from the cannibal. Without wasting another second, Leon shot at him four times - the forth shot making his head jerk back so hard it cracked.

From afar, the sound of sirens travelled amongst the wind and it sent a good feeling throughout Leon. The cannibal cracked his neck into place again and lunged at Leon with impossible speed and knocked him to the ground. Leon's back impacted with the ground forcefully, blowing the wind out of his lungs and leaving him gasping for air. The cannibalistic man opened his mouth and a slimey, fleshy organ that resembled a venus flytrap tried to devour Leon's face.

Leon sucked in a deep breath that filled his lungs to the max and for a moment, he over powered the creature. The moment was long enough for him to press the barrel of his gun to the creature's head and shoot. Blood splattered to ground and flecked Leon's cheek. The creature collapsed on top of the man, dead. With a burdened sigh, the agent pushed the creature off of him and holstered his gun.

He remained on the ground as two police cars pulled into the gas station. His back stung and the feeling of almost being eaten alive didn't make it feel any better. He heard one of the cops ask for an ambulance and another yell for them to call the CSIs.

"We have two guys over here! One's dead and the other must be in shock." This police officer was a woman with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, light skin and brown eyes.

"Sir, are you feeling okay?" She asked.

Leon nodded, still refusing to move.

"Can you stand?"

He nodded again, but was still unmoving.

"Why don't you try?"

This time, he shook his head.

"Well why not? Need help?"

"I just lost breath." Leon smiled lightly when the officer flinched, surprised that he spoke.

"You must have hit your back pretty hard." She held her hand out to help him up. Although he didn't need it, he accepted her kindness and took her hand to hoist himself up from the ground.

"No thanks to that thing." Leon motioned to the corpse.

"About that…" The woman frowned, looking from the body to Leon. "What exactly happened?"

"Not sure, I didn't think cannibals were existent in this day and age but apparently they are. The man nearly ate the cashier's face." Leon frowned deeply and looked to the few people that were speaking to the other police officers.

"They'll tell you the same exact story." He said, looking back at her. She blinked for a moment and sighed.

"What a long day…" She mused.

"Mine's just started. Oh and you might want to burn the body. I heard cannibals have a tendency to stay alive." Leon smiled and headed for his car.

"Where are you going?" The woman asked.

"Work," And with that said, Leon got into his car and drove off. Although he didn't want to leave the creature there with the officers, he had no choice. His mission had to be completed now that he knew what was endangering the people of Tucson.

* * *

Rebecca was restless. For two hours she tossed and turned in bed, getting herself tangled in the sheets as she did. Outside, children were laughing and a puppy was barking enthusiastically. Downstairs in the kitchen, Jill and Claire were worrying over the possibility of there being no cure for Rebecca while Barry's wife was encouraging them to stay positive. In the living room, the TV was being watched by Barry's two little girls who argued over what to watch next. All of which Rebecca could hear perfectly. In fact, she could hear the shuffling of the three woman's shoes against the linoleum floor and the sound of the trees' leaves being rustled by gentle breezes.

Without even acknowledging what she was doing, Rebecca inattentively got out of bed, unwrinkled the sheets until they looked as if no one was carelessly tossing and turning around in them, and proceeded to the bathroom.

She turned to the mirror and immediately stumbled back as she screamed at the sight. Then it dawned on her;

"It's me!" She gasped, her fingers tracing her lips and trying to poke at the non-existent fangs.

"You would think you would have already gotten used to seeing yourself like this." Her reflection smirked at her in amusement.

"Well, I haven't okay?" Rebecca whined and tried to fix her hair as best as she could without the help of her real reflection.

"Not everyone gets used to seeing themselves as monsters." She pouted.

"Hey that hurts." The reflection mocked a sad face.

Rebecca rolled her eyes and washed her face with hot water. The feeling was as if cold water was splashed onto over heated skin, only in her case it was the opposite. There was a knock on the door and Jill's voice followed.

"Rebecca? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." The younger woman opened the door and smiled at Jill.

"Are you sure? We heard you scream." Jill peered into the bathroom to see if there were any intruders.

"I saw a roach. That's all." Rebecca grinned sheepishly.

"Gross!" Jill stepped back and looked down at the floor, making sure she wasn't about to step on the non-existent roach.

"So, are we going to leave soon?" Rebecca asked, leaving the bathroom and following the woman out of the bedroom and downstairs to where all the other females were.

"Yes, once the guys get back."

"Where did they go?"

"They realized they forgot extra batteries for the flashlights so they went back." Claire answered, handing Rebecca a bottle of water. The medic hesitated before taking it and unscrewing the cap. She took a small sip of water and waited for the feeling of sickness to well up in her throat. When the feeling never came, she deemed it safe to drink the water.

"Is it staying down?" Barry's wife asked. Rebecca nodded and ran a hand through her hair.

"Yeah, sorry if I worried you guys." She smiled guiltily. The three women merely shook their heads in protest.

"Don't be sorry." Claire grinned.

The front door opened and the two girls on the couch sprang up and went to hug their father. Chris entered the house and smiled at Rebecca.

"You look less sick. Did you sleep?" He asked.

Rebecca began to laugh. She laughed as though what he said was hilarious. The other people in the room merely stared, most concerned and others confused. All of them both. The medic shook her head and smiled.

"I'm sorry, I just…" She shook her head again and her laughter ceased. You're a strange person, her conscience teased. Leave me alone… Rebecca sighed.

"Hey, it's okay." Claire smiled lightly, patting Rebecca's shoulder. Although she was probably the most confused and concerned, she tried to brush it off.

Making Rebecca stress out over things that she didn't need to be stressing over, was something they all were not aiming for. As long as the girl's mind was seemingly on something else and not on 'am I going to die in the next few hours', then they felt that everything would be somewhat fine.

Chris cleared his throat, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Let's get going. We'll get there by the time it's completely dark."

* * *

**B o u n d & C o l d**

Chapter Seven

~ E n d

* * *

I'd like to start off by saying **I'm sorry!** I can't believe I said I wouldn't disappear again and what do I do? I GO AWOL. Boooo, I suck. Hahaha. Anyway a lot has been going on because of school and such but I'm going to try to be more productive with finishing 'Bound and Cold'. So in order to keep this baby alive, I'll update every month. If I'm lucky I'll be able to update more frequently than that.

The quote at the beginnig of the chapter is from the song: _Sunday Bloody Sunday _by _U2_. Great group they are. Greeeeaaat group.

I do not own U2 or Resident Evil. Just this story.

Oh and thank you,

**AerisTifaYuffie**

**Pezgirl1**

**Divine Arion**

**KT324**

**Malice**

**USWeasilgirl**

For your reviews!!


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